


Vampire PM

by Egle0702



Category: 2PM (Band)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Blood and Violence, Brotherhood, Family, Flashbacks, Gen, Light Angst, Loyalty, Multi, Other, Pining, Sisterhood, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2020-02-04 13:26:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 207,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18605431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Egle0702/pseuds/Egle0702
Summary: A surrogate family of abandoned and lost vampires of various ages try to navigate the modern day and a ton of accumulated relationships. Friends, family, enemies. Old and new.





	1. #1

_People’s Republic of China, present day_

 

He picked his phone up before it even started ringing. Talk about reflexes.

“Yes,” his smooth voice echoed in an empty room accompanied by a stifled whimpering somewhere down on the floor. At dusk, dim city lights flooded the room casting a long shadow of his tall and lean frame on the bare wooden floor.

“Yes,” his thick eyelashes fluttered as he listened to the person on the other end of the world, his perfect pale face absolutely free of any emotion. “Yes. I understand. I’ll leave right away.”

The conversation ended and for a while there was only a faint sound of honking cars and yelling people coming from the outside. He slid his sleek black phone into the inner pocket of his suit jacket.

Dressed all in black, with a face that could’ve adorned any decent fashion magazine, he could easily pass for a high-school kid off on his way to a senior prom. Yet, as of now, he was posing as a businessman. A very hungry businessman.

He turned away from a lone window and looked down where a man in his 30s lay wriggling faintly on the floor, half-naked, his arms and legs tied up with his shirt and pants so tight he could hardly stir a muscle.

Expensive shoe heels clacked against the wooden floorboards, and the man in suit came closer squatting in front of his prey. The only thing that made any sound was his high-class clothes. He angled his head looking at the man, inspecting him, as if seeing a person for the first time in his existence.

The man would’ve screamed if he hadn’t been gagged. He was absolutely terrified, and there was nothing but fear in his eyes.

“I usually don’t pick men,” said the good-looking youth. “You leave a kind of unpleasant aftertaste. But I figured…” he looked up reflecting on his decision, his face absolutely calm.

“More than twenty million men in this country will never find a spouse because of the gender gap and, as I see, you have failed at your blind date today…” he looked back at the man, a soft ring to his accent as he spoke.

“I need to live, and humans die eventually anyway, so... It’s okay to hate me, but I’m just helping your government with the demographics a little bit,” he pulled an angelic smile that promised nothing heavenly whatsoever. “Don’t worry, I’m the clean type. I’ll make it quick,” and before the man could as much as squeak, Khun reached out and broke his neck.

 

***

 

_The United Kingdom, present day_

 

He walked down a grey street, wind flapping at the corners of his dark grey coat. He knew he was being followed, but he paid no heed.

It was 2 o’clock in the afternoon, but the thick layer of clouds some two or one and a half kilometres up above made it look like it was way past five in the evening. He liked this country. With just approximately a hundred sunny days a year it meant he could be out in the open, walking in daytime as much as he pleased. And despite the relatively low East Asian demographics, people didn’t stare. As much as they would’ve stared at home. So, he would spend at least six months here every single year. Since 1905.

Passing by a bakery display window full of Christmas cakes, he thought he would give his left hand away for a spoonful of sugar. He never really knew what it tasted like. His only palatal memories included kimchi, eggs, meat, vegetables, and water. Sucks this big, he pouted walking on slightly hunched.

He stopped in front of a crossing, waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Cars buzzed back and forth, and he stepped down the pavement the moment the red light flickered and the yellow one switched on.

“Look out!!” a small bundle of warmth rammed into his left side, pushing him away from the street. Not that he could have been easily swayed by that, but he was so used to feigning human reflexes that he tumbled down on the pavement, earning surprised glances from the passers-by. No one really stopped to ask if he were ok, and he was thankful for that.

A sports-type black Mercedes zoomed down the street through the yellow light, followed by a frustrated honking of the cars on the other side of the crossing. He looked down at the creature clinging on his coat. There was a bush of dark unruly thick hair.

“You think I didn’t see that coming?” he asked, his chest vibrating with his low velvet voice. The person looked up. There were big dark eyes beneath thick black bangs.

“Me or the car?” the young girl blinked. He was slightly surprised, but after a few sniffs he was pretty sure it was the same person.

“Both,” he said. She snickered.

“You noticed me, eh?” the girl got off him smoothing her clothes, although her style was so hippy-like or New Age, or whatever the kids used to call that these days, that in such a fashion one could hardly tell a difference between crumpled rags and high-class outfit.

“You’re Yena’s new errand girl, aren’t you?” he got up to his feet, immediately towering above her. Her head barely reached his chest. She nodded, her thick hair fluttering back and forth, but she couldn’t take her eyes off him. He felt uncomfortable.

“We don’t like being stared at. Don’t you know?”

“You look tanned,” she said matter-of-factly.

“My skin tone was darker to begin with…” there was just a genuine curiosity in her eyes, and he found it slightly unsettling. The girl felt weird. “Aren’t you scared?”

She snickered smiling brightly.

“You won’t bite me. Yena told me you’re picky,” she swayed to the left and to the right. “Your preference is AB positive. I’m B negative,” with her being so straightforward he was momentarily lost for words.

She then reached out her hand. “I’m Bobby.”

“Bobby?” he shook it loosely, feeling her warmth penetrate through his glove.

“Roberta for short,” she explained and her stomach growled. He grinned, his teeth shining in the twilight of a cloudy late November afternoon.

“Well, Bobby, nice to meet you, I guess. I’m Taec. Let’s go. I’ll buy you some chocolate.”

 

***

 

Running down a steel pole of an old forsaken factory he shunned all the sounds from the outside, concentrating on the distant ragged breathing, sealing his own mouth off completely. Breathing was something he could go on without for a very long time. It was like the annual car maintenance. You can go without it, but it’s better for you to do it.

With his fugitive being a complete baby, it was logical to depend on breathing because he surely wouldn’t have broken that habit yet. And Chansung was right. That annoying son of a bitch was panting as if his life depended on it. Which it didn’t. But it made finding him a lot easier.

Voluntarily dilating his pupils as much as it was possible, Chansung slowly crouched at the end of the pole, some 15 metres above the ground level. He was determined to do it without the sense of smell this time. Just to entertain himself because boredom was something that he has got plagued by for the last few decades. And even though he found looking after this baby excruciatingly annoying (“I’m too old for this, hyung”), he had to admit that babysitting took his mind off the constant struggle with the monotone.

His eyes told him there were currently 25 rats, 10 pigeons, and a couple of teens doing something they shouldn’t be doing in the abandoned factory. His ears told him the impatient brat was steadily approaching the teens. Chansung rolled his big eyes. He could understand the thrill of the hunt and he would’ve let it go had it been only that. But the kid had obviously no intention of practicing fair sport – that is – catching and letting go the next instance.

He would definitely carry on with the feast. And Chansung couldn’t allow that. Not in this country. And not on kids so young. He should at least let them reach their 20s, and then strike them down, tsk. No patience, no experience.

There was a faint movement on the far left, close to the entrance to the hangar, and Chansung crouched even lower. The two teens were too preoccupied with themselves. They were making too much noise to notice the predator creeping towards them. Good, that made the nanny’s job a lot easier. Chansung’s nostrils flared and he pounced.

He didn’t know what hit him. One second, he had his eyes set on a couple of overactive teens, and the next there was a painful jab in his ribs and the factory disappeared from his field of vision. He was pushed with such extreme force that he found himself rolling in a ditch some 400 metres away from the building. He could feel the chilly wind on his face, his hands digging into dry grass. And even though he didn’t feel cold, he was pissed. Too pissed to take a second to sniff his surroundings and realize what he was up against. The second time he felt it coming, and his foot was quick to react. Chansung’s nose met with a firm obstacle.

“Fuck,” the taller creature cursed halting his attack and giving his opponent some time to figure things out. The hiss coming from the youngster’s mouth told him he had been recognized. He was already on his fours, crouching like a cat, ready to pounce. Chansung moved in first.

A hand rammed into his shoulder, snatching him at his leather jacket and throwing him into a forced somersault, another foot shod in a Converse sneaker hitting the left corner of his mouth. He could feel his lip crack. The youth was getting stronger. No more Mr. Nice Guy. To think of it, Chansung grumbled, landing on his fours, his black dilated eyes finding his prey immediately, he has never been nice.

Junho was about to place another kick into his senior’s head, but as he leaped into the air, Chansung disappeared so fast he could hardly catch the movement with his enhanced senses. The next second, he heard a crack and he fell onto the ground with his right forearm broken in two places. He could see white tips of the bone protruding through his jumper. He’s never been a fan of open fractures.

“Argh!!” snatching at his arm, Junho’s furious eyes locked onto the elder, who once again materialized some 5 metres ahead of him and was now approaching slowly, like a panther, absolutely sure his prey would no longer escape him.

“Goddammit, hyung! I was hungry!!” Junho exclaimed as if that was the best explanation ever.

Chansung stopped when he could see his own reflection in Junho’s sharp eyes. Opening his mouth, he ran his thumb across the bloody corner of his lip.

“Not enough if you could still do this,” he lazily eyed the tip of his thumb covered in dark blood. His eyes found Junho’s again. The kid was furious, but he gave a sigh of defeat.

“Chansung, I…”

In Chansung’s eyes, annoyance replaced laziness. His right forefinger tapped Junho’s forehead.

“How. Many. Times. Do. I Have. To Tell You,” the finger tapped with every accented word. “I might’ve been turned at a younger age than you, but that was half a millennium ago, got it? Respect your seniors, shrimp. You think I like this situation we’re in?” he scoffed. “I LOATHE it, but I respect MY hyung, so until you're off my back, you better stay out of trouble, understood?”

“But…”

“Enough!” the elder bellowed, his dark eyes full of disappointment as he looked away sighing. Even though he could put on a perfect blank face when he wanted to, Chansung’s eyes were usually pure raw emotion. “Seriously, I hope your maker rots in hell,” he muttered.

“I bet she does,” Junho winced as he slowly pushed his bone back in. The sound wasn’t too nice.

“Well, good riddance…” Chansung looked back at him to see what he was doing. When the kid was done relocating his bones, Chansung reached out his hand towards the kid’s face. Junho looked puzzled.

“You said you were hungry,” Chan explained looking away; he appeared to be totally disinterested. Junho blinked.

“But if I take it, I’ll be tied…”

“Look, I know what it feels like to be a new-born, ok?” the tall creature got somewhat impatient. “Been there, done that. And we’re not giving you away, so… Take it before I change my mind.”

Puzzlement vanished from Junho’s face immediately. He grinned baring his pearly white fangs and dug into Chansung’s wrist. Chansung’s scrunched his nose. What was just a little bit more responsibility after all these centuries anyway?

 

*** 

 

They were typing away on their notebooks and clicking their mice whenever they had to. Her table was set with papers, tubes, syringes, various research data, 6 cups of coffee and a sleeping black cat, which, at the moment, served as a rather decent paperweight.

His desk was absolutely clean, almost pristine, and there was just a glass of currant juice with a straw on the left side of his notebook. He was being experimental. His long slender fingers danced quickly across the keyboard, his coal black eyes focused on the screen.

“How’s the currant?” she looked away from her desktop to see that half of the juice was gone already.

“Tastes like crap,” he confided secretly following the sway of her long blond hair. “But I can feel the level of fluids rising.”

“Which fluids you’re talking about exactly?” cocking an eyebrow she gave him an eye through the top of her glasses.

“Body fluids,” he grinned taking another sip of the juice and managing to swallow it down without frowning. She just shook her head and went back to typing.

They were working in the living room, lights already switched on because at 6 p.m. it was as dark as it could possibly be in the northern hemisphere at the end of fall. It was her house, but they lodged there quite frequently. An old two-story stone building with a basement and an attic to boot, just outside of the old town was somehow very much to their liking. And they loved the wooden stairs. As much as Bobby.

She jogged down the stairs from the first floor, barging into the living room, her right hand gripping her head.

“Yena-eonni, do you have this thingy that measures your blood pressure? My head is killing me…” the girl pouted.

The blonde stopped clicking the mouse and stood up slowly, going towards a huge chest of drawers set against a white wall. Opening the top drawer, she pulled the measurer out.

“Here’s your thingy,” she offered it to the girl. “And stop calling me eonni, I’m not Korean. You’re not Korean. It’s disturbing.”

“But I like the word,” her voice was somewhat whiny, but the girl quickly sat down on the sofa, strapping the measurer to her left wrist.

He gave her an eye. There was something about this girl. She felt somewhat unstable. But then again, normal people are not required here.

“When was the last time you ate?” Yena sat down at her computer again.

“Yesterday morning. Taec-oppa bought me chocolate, but I haven’t eaten it yet,” Bobby chirped when the thing on her wrist beeped a few times.

“No wonder your head aches,” Minjun pointed out finishing his juice. “You’re not a vampire. You must eat. Normal food. Did Taec call Khun by the way?”

“Yes,” Bobby nodded staring at the numbers on her wrist. “Waaah~ the pressure’s really high. I could use some depletion…”

“Don’t be silly, Bobo,” Yena shook her head.

“It’s Bobby,” the girl puffed at her unruly hair. “Eonni, how come you’re so sure they’re not gonna bite you?” she was prone to changing the subject just like that. Yena cringed at the title again.

“I’m anaemic,” she shrugged.

“Anaemic,” Minjun shivered. “To put it simply. Eww.”

“Ahhh…” Bobby nodded at the piece of information and sat straight suddenly as she heard the front door open and close hastily. Her dark eyes widened seeing a young man stagger into the living-room and Minjun was up next to him immediately, holding him over his shoulders before he could collapse.

“Bobo, meet Wooyoung,” Yena clicked her mouse, snatching a sample needle in her left hand.

“It’s Bobby,” the girl grumbled and then smiled cheerfully at the black-haired young man. “Hi!” she waved. “You’re OK?” her bright expression moulded into a scowl as the youth looked depleted, tired and pale – a full-fledged zombie. He was panting heavily.

“Stop pretending you’re dying,” Minjun frowned slightly. “One or two empty days can’t kill you, and you know it.”

“Ah!” Wooyoung closed his eyes as Yena’s needle stuck his nape stealthily. He was already used to her taking constant samples of him, but she could always sneak up to him without him noticing. Really weird for a human.

Wooyoung was still rubbing his neck when Yena walked away, her little portable laboratory collecting data from his blood sample.

“Well, I’d say it was more than a day or two, he’s more anaemic than I am,” she sat down in front of her notebook again.

Minjun stared at the youngling in disbelief. It was unusual for a new-born to have so much control. Whatever was stopping him from feeding, Minjun was sure, must’ve been more than a guilty conscience. That kid had a deranged mind of his own.

“You’re starving yourself again?!” Minjun exclaimed, his old dialectal speech shining through the modern standard. Sometimes others had trouble understanding him. “What is up with you two? Junho’s insatiable, and you can hardly take a gulp. We need eat to survive too, you little!”

“Oh, great,” Bobby waved her hand, obviously offering her wrist to Wooyoung. “He’s hungry and I need depletion, please take a bite.”

Minjun stared at her, finally convinced she was absolutely deranged. Yena clicked her tongue in disapproval.

“Not a good idea, Bobo, he’s a new-born. One bite and he might not be able to control himself,” she explained preparing a shot of fluids as Minjun settled the kid in sweatpants and a hoodie in an armchair.

“It’s Bobby,” the girl frowned pouting. “Will that help?” she eyed the syringe in Yena’s hands. “Can they live on that?”

“Should help for a while,” Yena got up from her chair walking around the table. “They can live on that as well as you can live on IV fluids.”

“Eww,” Bobby shivered.

“Exactly,” the blonde eyed the younger girl and then stabbed the needle into Wooyoung’s shoulder without even bothering to take off his hoodie. Infection was none of their concern really.

He hissed exposing his white teeth, his nose crinkling in process. The door banged again waking up the cat. He raised his head slowly, opening his bleary eyes and giving the intruders a very fussy stare.

“I found him in the outskirts of the city,” Chansung pulled Junho into the room, holding the kid at his nape. “Hunting.”

“Figures,” Minjun’s eyes left Wooyoung’s face. It was constricted in pain as his body took in artificial fluids. The eldest focused on Junho. He narrowed his eyes, sensing a new bond in his head loud and clear.

“Had I known you two would be so much trouble I would’ve disposed of you two along with your maker,” he sighed.

The cat hissed arching his back and it caught Junho’s attention. For a new-born, he had very low standards. He grinned. The cat hissed again, and Yena looked up from her patient. She instantaneously understood what the buzz was.

“No!” she pointed one of her syringes at Junho. “The cat is off-limits. And he has no balls. You know what happens when you eat a eunuch?”

“What?” Junho and Bobby asked in a chorus.

“You grow fat!” the syringe was still pointed at Junho. “Very fat. And your sexual prowess leaves you altogether.”

Minjun and Chansung couldn’t help but snort. Yet, whether it was because of all the senior blood the kid had consumed or not, Junho’s cheeks flushed pale pink.

“Vampires can blush?” Bobby stared in astonishment.

“Don’t give the kid a hard time, Yena,” Taec slowly descended down the stairs. “He’s still a virgin.”

“I can help you with that if you promise not to bite,” Bobby raised her hand.

Everyone stared at her in disbelief because there was not a tinge of lie in what she said. Minjun now really knew why Yena picked her: the girl was nuts. And crazy people were easier to deal with in this  kind of environment.

“Did you call Khun?” he asked Taec, as Chansung grabbed Yena’s cat and settled in one of the armchairs with it, just to make sure Junho wouldn’t pounce on the animal.

“A few hours ago,” he walked past Junho, who was still eyeing the cat, towards Wooyoung. “Don’t piss Yena off, Junho, I still haven’t received my dose of sugar,” he told the kid behind his back while putting his hand on Wooyoung’s forehead. “You’re one troublesome kid, you know that?” his low voice was barely audible.

“Hyung, I…” Wooyoung coughed.

Yena sighed. Going back to her table with all her syringes she eyed Bobby.

“Eat your chocolate,” she ordered.

And that wasn’t to be questioned as the girl obediently pulled out a bar from her sweater pocket and began gobbling it down. The vampires were silent. They could stay still for hours. The only sound in the room came from Yena clicking the mouse and Bobby munching the chocolate.

The girl ate the entire thing and then waited for anything to happen, but the room had fallen into a comfortable silence, with the rhythmical tapping of Yena’s fingers against her keyboard and sporadic mouse clicks. Bobby didn’t want to disturb anyone; the silence seemed to be physically hanging in the air. Yena’s cat purred in Chansung’s lap. She didn’t know how much time had passed when Yena turned to her without a single word and snatched at her left arm, pulling up her sleeve and digging a new needle into her vein with terrifying precision.

“Ow?” Bobby was more surprised than scared.

“You said you need depletion,” Yena shrugged watching the blood gush into a small container, totally blanking Junho, who was watching everything with his eyes twice as big.

Bobby’s elbow began to twinge, but she was distracted by a lean figure in a black suit slowly floating down the stairs. She hadn’t heard the skylight on the upper floor open or close. This one looked like he’s just stepped out of a magazine photoshoot.

“Wow,” she gasped. “Can all vampires fly?”

Khun landed on his feet when he reached the last step and leisurely walked towards the rest.

“Can all humans sing?” he asked in his smooth voice.

“I sure couldn’t,” Chansung pointed out, stroking the purring cat.

“You’re late,” Minjun said.

“Sorry,” Khun leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets. “I had to dine first.”

Bobby couldn’t control a hysteric snicker when Yena clamped her vein, giving a small tube full of the girl’s blood to Taec.

“Here you go, it’s B negative, but I can’t do any better at the moment,” she said.

Taec was all giddy to receive it. Shaking like a five-year-old, which totally didn’t suit his stature, he gulped everything down in an instant and savoured it as if it was an exclusive brand of beer.

“Aaaah,” he grinned. “Sugar.”

 

***

 

_Ayutthaya Kingdom, 1660s_

 

Humidity seeped right through his clothes and he figured, annoyed, he might as well walk butt-naked: their natural body scent was enough for a decent bug repellent. He didn’t really know what it was, perhaps their blood was too stale for worms, larvae, and mosquitoes to feed on. Not that he complained. That left only thick leaves and bushes of the jungle to deal with.

It was his first time this far south. He honestly had no wish to leave Joseon, but after a few centuries of learning, watching, studying, and just being together, he instinctively tagged along when Minjun put on his weathered, totally outdated clothes, and headed southwards across the land of Qing.

Chansung had to admit he liked the journey at first. It’s been a long time since his last visit to the Middle Kingdom, and he was interested to see how the land has changed. But the farther they went, the hotter and moister it became, and the sun was so fierce during daytime that unless they found a dark cave to hide from it or buried themselves 6 feet deep into the ground, Chansung would suffer from extensive allergies and stomach ache. He wasn’t as impatient as in his early days: he could go on without feeding for days, but he really couldn’t stand the discomfort of skin allergies.

Finally emerging into an opening through thick tropical branches, Chansung was flooded with silver moonlight that, for some reason, made him think of winter. If it had been freezing with snow, everything would’ve been glittering and dazzling like diamonds, with the night so bright that even the human eye could discern the colours all around them.

However, he was stuck in a humid tropical night with a cacophony of songs from frogs, insects, insomniac birds, and mammals assaulting his sensitive ears. He tried to not take deep sniffs of air because it was saturated with thousands of scents his head could not process at the moment. He feared, if he were to take it too deep, he might get high. Just like with too much rice wine in his human days. A slight weakness in his knees told him it was his third week without a decent feed. No wonder scents seemed overwhelming.

Minjun emerged silently on his left and looked down the precipice. The moonlight illuminated a wide river slowly winding southwards, its banks lush with emerald grass, bushes and trees. Jungle full of any type of life one could ever think of, save for, probably, human. Chansung could tell Minjun was hungry as well. The elder was taking careful sniffs of air.

“There is a group of elephants further down the river,” he said.

“Hyung, I am not feeding on the elephants,” Chansung stressed, his black shoulder-length hair fluttering slowly as a faint breeze reached them from the river. His bangs were too damp to be swayed though, and they stayed stuck to his forehead.

Minjun blinked and slowly turned to look at the taller man.

“Why so?”

“Bad karma,” Chansung explained. 

Minjun buried his face in his palm, his topknot still perfectly neat despite the hazardous environment they had to deal with in order to get to this place.

“Retribution,” Chansung raised his right forefinger. “Who knows, maybe I still have a chance to reincarnate after and IF someone smashes my head off sometime around in the future.”

Minjun bit inside his cheek.

“I do not know, which is more puzzling, a vampire preaching non-killing or a vampire sure of his imminent end,” he sighed. “Alright, then I suggest splitting up. There aren’t many people around, but there are a few who work for the king and his timber trade. Don’t drain them; we do not need to alert the locals. It hath to be smooth,” it was moments like this, when Minjun’s tongue would still accidentally slip, that Chansung really grasped his hyung has been here since the Silla Kingdom days.

“Understood,” he nodded crouching on the ledge, dilating his pupils, breathing in as deep as he could, and letting his ears absorb the sounds of the tropical night to the fullest. Minjun disappeared before he could even get a single trace of human scent in the air. A cold shiver ran down his spine.

He couldn’t even sense Minjun’s movements. Chansung had met quite a few vampires in the first two centuries of his life, but only a handful could match Minjun’s experience and knowledge. A part of him was glad this old fang had taken him under his wing, but the other part, the one that was a lot more concerned with self-protection, told him not to get on the bad side of the old wolf. Despite the difference in build, Chan would’ve had no chance against his hyung.

Leaping up into the air, he slowly glided across the river to the other side of the jungle, as a faint scent in the breeze finally stirred his predatory instincts. It was far away, but he was fast, and hunger was a very good incentive to move forwards. Now he just had to safely land on the other bank of the river. Chansung actually sucked at flying. If you weren’t born to do it, it took a hell of a practice to develop at least satisfactory skills, but at least by now he could glide and it helped in situations like these.

That is, until someone better rammed into him at full speed in a hunting frenzy. He had noticed it coming. There was a distinct smell in the air that he couldn’t recognize at first, but then the next instance he figured the night creatures of this land must’ve smelled different. He was still in the middle of his glide not so far from the river bank, which was exactly the reason he didn’t have enough time to manoeuvre in order to avoid the incoming.

When iron clutches grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the shore, he finally recognized the scent – it was reeking through the creature’s pores – the new-born feeding frenzy. Chansung’s brain screeched to be extremely careful: Despite their inferior strength, lack of experience and, sometimes, sane mind, the new-borns had a tendency to be so zealous, they could wear even the most experienced veteran out. Chansung had broken Minjun’s arms like that for a few times in his early days.

Snatching the intruder’s arm with his free hand, Chansung tried pulling him away. The difference in strength worked and, as Chansung landed on a rather muddy river bank, his attacker descended several paces away from him and not without a catch. When Chansung threw him off, the youngling managed to grab a handful of his upper garment, totally ripping the cloth and exposing half of Chansung’s body to the moonlight. 

The sight of perfectly visible veins was too much for the lean new-born in white. He dashed towards the older vampire instantaneously and so fast that Chansung had to blink. He either was too hungry to defend himself or this new child here was just a natural. Whichever way it was, Chansung flipped backwards, grazing the offender’s chin with his foot, which earned him a low growl.

Weakness in his knees got worse. Chansung cursed inwardly; he really was too hungry to fight. What he couldn’t understand though was the fact that he got attacked. With his senses heightened by the new-born feeding frenzy, this boy should’ve dashed towards humans in a flash. Now why was he attacking HIM of all people?

His mind was too slow. Before he knew it, the new-born deflected his kick, swirled around him like a whirlwind, and locked Chansung’s nape in his lean yet muscular arms. Not good, Chansung thought. He then caught a glimpse of dark brown eyes rimmed with thick eyelashes and a set of sharp teeth sunk into his right shoulder.

It hurt like hell. It’s been years since Chansung has been bitten by one of his kind, and it sure had been a lot more… alluring circumstances back then.

He groaned falling to his knees as the youngling kept on drinking and sucking, his fingers rammed into Chansung’s muscles, holding tighter than tight. He could feel shallow rivulets of blood trickling down his chest, and he could do nothing as the weakness from his knees slowly spread to his other joints. He just looked up, leaning his head against the attacker’s shoulder, his mouth slightly open. He looked at the full moon.

For some reason… For some reason, this didn’t feel too bad in the end. Chansung eyes fluttered closing. It felt like falling asleep. For real. For the first time in two centuries…

One moment it was there, and the next he was leaning on a thin air. Suddenly he was wide awake. Chansung turned around finally noticing he was no longer being held. Minjun stood there on the river bank, with his foot rammed into the new-born’s face, not letting him make the slightest move no matter how much he whined.

“DOWN!” Minjun roared and the fury in his voice made the baby lay still despite the fact that he obviously didn’t speak the language. The elder looked at Chansung. “You fine?”

Chansung rubbed his sore shoulder. The wound was closing already. “I will be.”

“Ah~” Minjun let out a long and frustrated sigh. “What is it with this kingdom? New-borns attacking legal travellers? What are the masters doing, seriously?”

“Maybe he doesn’t have one,” Chansung offered, sensing the blood map in his head begin to shift.

He rested on his right knee, taking a closer look at the offender. The boy was tall and lean, dressed in perfect white and red silk, now absolutely smeared with Chansung’s blood. He looked twenty or twenty-two for human years. Minjun took a few deep sniffs.

“I can still sense his maker around him, but it’s foul,” he said. “And it’s fading. What a bastard,” the elder gave Chansung a meaningful eye. “Remember the scent.”

Chansung took a deep breath with his eyes closed, his brain registering the tinge of something unpleasant.

“He was obviously abandoned,” Minjun sighed. “Not good. Totally not decent,” he sighed. “And he had your blood right after he turned. That leaves him in our custody now, until we find his maker and get rid of him.”

“Get rid of him?” Chan opened his eyes frowning slightly.

“A master who abandons his child hath no place on this earth,” Minjun’s voice was as cold as ice. “Whoever it was, the bastard must’ve thought it would be too much of a hassle to train this one. He’s a natural, and look at his clothes…” the elder finally stepped off the boy’s face, his overwhelming presence enough to keep him put. “He’s a prince. Or a noble at the least,” Minjun sighed again and leaned down to grab the new-born at his nape, pulling him back to his feet. “I guess there’s no turning back now,” he eyed the youngling’s mouth smeared in Chansung’s blood. “You raise him.”

Chansung blinked.

“Me?” he gaped.

“Of course, he’s got your imprint now,” Minjun nodded. “I’ve taught you everything I know. You sure are able to do it. And seeing as this kid is a natural, the benefit can be mutual.”

“But… how can we even communicate?” Chansung pursed his lips. “Hyung, do you speak Siamese?”

“No, but he looks like a high-class kid,” Minjun eyed the tall youth up and down. “Maybe he knows Mandarin.”

A crease formed in between Chansung’s eyebrows, trying to pull words from the utmost corners of his memory. He had learned the language back while he was still human, but he really REALLY hated the Confucian analects.

“ _Your_   _name_?” he managed eventually.

The new-born blinked; his big dark brown eyes finally wide open as he heard something familiar in between all this foreign talk.

“ _Nichikhun_ ,” he said.

“ _I’m Chansung. That’s Minjun. He’s your senior. Sorry, you’re stuck with us now,”_  Chansung really wasn’t much of a conversationalist when it came to foreign languages. A habit he would be forced to break in the future. 

“ _Cannot leave you alone, can we?”_  Minjun added in a lot more fluent yet someone outdated Mandarin.

“ _Man, now I’m really hungry_ ,” Chansung complained rubbing his already healed shoulder.

“ _I told you there was a herd of elephants nearby,_ ” Minjun heaved an exasperated sigh.

“ _Don’t_ ,” Nichikhun almost exploded. “ _Cannot feed on elephants. Bad karma.”_

Chansung blinked staring at the newest addition to their little group of fangs. He then smiled brightly accompanied by Minjun’s quiet snicker.

 

***

 

_The United Kingdom, present day_

 

Wooyoung closed the fridge, holding a glass of red liquid in his right hand. It was early in the morning, the sun was about to rise, and the stone house in a calm street was relatively quiet. According to the weather forecast, it was going to be cloudy for the first half of the day, so Wooyoung had plans to go out and do stuff.

“What’s that?” he heard behind his back when he dipped a straw into his glass. He turned around to see Junho standing on the kitchen doorstep. He obviously eyed Wooyoung’s outfit, which was a loose sweater, jeans, dark brown boots, and a black semi-coat. It sure wasn’t the usual what Wooyoung would wear, but he knew his friend was referring to something else.

“Swine blood,” Wooyoung toasted and took a sip through the straw. Junho’s face contorted as if he had been given the sourest lemon possible.

“Eww…” he folded his arms across his chest.

“What eww?” Wooyoung rolled his eyes after gulping down the liquid. “Didn’t you want to bare your fangs at Bruno yesterday?”

“You know I would never harm that cat,” Junho pointed out. “And hey… you weren’t completely spaced out if you remember that.”

“Brain’s still here, you know,” Wooyoung tapped his temple, sipping the drink. Junho couldn’t help but notice he had a backpack on his shoulders.

“Going somewhere?” he cocked an eyebrow.

“M…” the friend nodded. “School.”

“What?” Junho gaped.

“English School,” Wooyoung leaned against the counter sipping continuously, his lips shaped into a very round “o.”

“English... what?” Junho shook his head. “Why would you even need that when we actually LIVE here now? It’s just a waste of time.”

“Well, I have all the time in the world, don’t I?” Wooyoung looked at him without raising his head, his eyes half covered beneath jet-black bangs.

He couldn’t help but think that his personality has changed after the shift. He sure used to be snarky before the turn as well, but now he really has adopted a cold, in-your-face, I-don’t-give-a-damn demeanour, which was adorned with occasional pangs of conscience.

On the other hand, he knew that Junho used to be a composed and straight-laced kid, but in the past six months he has displayed an unbelievably short temper, ready to flare up at the slightest remark he didn’t like. The person in question sighed.

“How does it feel?” Junho asked motioning at the glass in Wooyoung’s hand.

“Like _samgyeobsal_ without meat,” he shrugged. Junho blinked.

“What? Pig blood tastes like rice and lettuce?”

“You didn’t ask what it tasted like, you said, ‘how does it feel,’” Wooyoung pointed out. Junho was close to face-palming.

“So basically, you’re saying you feel like being a vegetarian or something…” he translated Wooyoung’s philosophies into normal language.

“Pretty much so,” Wooyoung shrugged.

“Ah,” Junho rubbed his face. “You really should go out and try some real feed, someone on two feet, OK?  _Homo sapiens_? Rings a bell? You don’t need to actually kill them, you know…” he gesticulated wildly. “Can’t survive on pig blood forever.”

Wooyoung’s face clouded up visibly even though his usual expression was rather blank to begin with.

“Better that than being someone else’s bitch,” he declared ominously.

Junho’s face changed completely. He narrowed his eyes.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” there was a tinge of menace in his voice. Wooyoung scoffed.

“You think my nose is blocked? I could smell Chansung all over you last night,” he accused with a half-empty glass in his hand.

“It’s called _imprint_ , you idiot, and it’s nothing like…!” Junho was lost for words.

Actually. The best defence was a good offence. He pointed at the young man he shared a common fate with:

“Yah, who’s the bitch!? Following Taec around like a sad puppy.”

“He’s fun to be around!” Wooyoung didn’t even notice as his voice volume went up a few decibels. “And at least I don’t FEED on him!!”

“You take it back right now!!” Junho roared launching at Wooyoung and ramming into him like a mad animal.

The glass fell on the floor and shattered into the tiniest pieces, the remaining amount of blood slowly trailing across the tiled floor. Junho planned to snatch Wooyoung at his sweater’s collar and drag him across the counter until he smashed him into the fridge or the wall, but he didn’t expect Wooyoung to retaliate.

It’s just that Junho was used to being physically fitter, but suddenly a firm palm caught his fist, a strong thigh pushed him away, and a split of a second later Junho found himself splayed out on the kitchen table, weighed down by a pair of thighs, an unexpectedly strong shoulder grinding into his chest. He coughed.

“The fuck man… when did you grow these muscles? And with all that starving,” he huffed and pushed Wooyoung away, punching him hard in the face. With the strength of the punch Wooyoung crashed into the cupboard almost breaking it, but he knew the owner of the house loved her kitchen, so he stopped at the last moment, his boot soles screeching on the tiled floor.

“I didn’t grow anything,” Wooyoung rubbed his jaw, feeling the corner of his lip crack. “They just popped out of nowhere,” and he lunged forward into Junho again.

“Stop. Right. There,” a smooth voice pierced right through their scuffle and they really froze, Wooyoung with his leg raised and stretched forward, ready to kick Junho in the face, and Junho with his left arm once again swaying for a punch. Two younglings looked back at the door where the sound had come from.

In the early morning twilight with the kitchen lights out, Khun looked almost ethereal in his usual dark suit. He stood there with his arms crossed watching the two; his dark chocolate eyes so intense it seemed he managed to look into the eyes of the both at the same time.

Wooyoung’s foot slowly sank down to the floor; Junho’s arms dropped to his sides, and both of them straightened their backs at the presence of their senior. Out of the four, Khun was probably the trickiest one to figure out. He was always so busy that they rarely saw him. It was always so hard to read him. And that certainly scared them.

Khun’s eyes focused on Wooyoung.

“Your muscles have become more defined because your body is adjusting to your new nature,” he said in his slightly accented Korean. “You didn’t grow anything new; it’s always been there, just…” he unfolded his arms and walked forward; his head slightly tilted back. “Perhaps… underdeveloped,” he then lowered his gaze, and Wooyoung felt he was being judged, but his blank face expression didn’t change. 

Khun halted as he reached the table and Junho. Turning his head slightly to the right he gazed at Junho’s collarbone line, his eyes unfocused. Junho could feel the buzz of the blood bond in his head, and he knew that Khun could feel it too. He assumed it was supposed to reassure him, but the only thing that could describe his current state was “fidgety.”

Khun took a very delicate sniff and said a matter-of-factly:

“You. Fed on Chansung.”

Junho would’ve gulped if he’d had any saliva left in his mouth. Khun turned to Wooyoung again, this time meeting his gaze.

“You will refrain from such inconsiderate actions in the future if you wish to retain the protection of our coven and the more so, to stay in this house,” he then stepped towards Wooyoung, took a very obvious sniff, and left through another door just as unexpectedly as he had appeared.

Two younglings blinked, meeting each other’s eye.

“What the… hell was that?” Junho gaped.

“To put it in your terms,” this time Taec and Yena made an entrance, with the owner of the house wearing an indescribable expression on her face as she saw her kitchen floor smeared with swine blood. Bruno ran into the kitchen after Taec and his mistress and hopped onto the kitchen table as light as a feather, immediately nestling in Junho’s lap.

Taec continued with his explanation.

“Khunnie’s been Chansung’s, as you said,” he drew imaginary quotation marks with his lean fingers. “ _Bitch_ , for a very long time,” he looked at Junho. “Khun’s been the sole bearer of Chansung’s imprint and his undivided attention for centuries, and now he’s got himself a little brother. So, he might be just a liiiiiiiiittle bit jealous,” he smirked as Yena pulled out a mop and began cleaning the mess, without forgetting to cast a killing glare at two younglings.

Junho now really gulped. Taec turned to Wooyoung.

“And Khunnie usually doesn’t feed on men cuz he’s just as picky as I am, but since Chansung was his first feed, he has an affinity towards Type B,” Taec wiggled his eyebrows looking Wooyoung straight in the eye. “So, you better watch out.”

Wooyoung’s face remained absolutely expressionless. He then wiped the blood off his already healed lip, slung his backpack properly back on his shoulders, and gave a 90-degree bow.

“I’m really sorry to have been a nuisance, it will never happen again. I will be back later!” he declared energetically and scurried out of the kitchen.

“Be careful, it might be sunny in the afternoon!!” Yena exclaimed waving her mop after him.

“Yes, nuna! Understood!” came before the front door closed with a slight bang.

Yena blinked. And sighed going back to cleaning.

“A vampire calling me nuna… that’s like the ultimate sign of old age,” she whined.

Taec kneeled next to her smiling tenderly as he began gathering the smithereens into his hand. Junho sat on the table stroking Bruno.

“Whether you’re 24 or 87,” Taec said in his low voice and Yena looked up at him, his face was right in front of her. “You know you’re like a guiding star to us. Not everyone could put up with what you do. But you shine brightly… and I don’t mean just your hair. Your star is so bright that ever since I’ve met you, I can no longer see other lights in the sky…”

Yena gaped, the corner of her left eye twitching.

“Ok, Edward, don’t push it, or I might as well just throw up on you.”

Taec gasped, looking slightly offended.

“Edward was turned during the Great Influenza, OK?” he pouted. “Which makes me a few decades older… I’ve always considered myself closer to Bill Compton… You know my first foreign name was William?”

Yena stared at him in disbelief.

“YOU READ THOSE BOOKS?!!” Bruno twitched nervously in Junho’s lap, but he was soon soothed by the kid’s big lukewarm hand.

“What?” Taec shrugged. “I need to know what the buzz is all about these days! Don’t wanna be stuck-in-the-mud.”

 

***

Elbows on the table, Minjun interlaced his fingers, putting his chin on his hands. His charcoal eyes focused directly on her.

It was daytime with the sun shining bright up in the sky, so they were sitting in the living-room with the blinds down. The others had gone to black out for the day, while Yena had put the leash on Bruno (the cat hated it with all his guts) and gone shopping for food. For a person who was not fond of eating, she strangely enjoyed cooking quite a lot.

“Are you ready?” Minjun asked calmly.

Bobby squirmed uncomfortably on the sofa pulling her feet under herself, resembling a bundle of wool with her socks, forearm warmers, mini knitted dress, leggings and a thick scarf, all in vibrant almost Christmas-y red, white, and green. She pursed her lips, obviously keeping her arms to herself.

“Why are we doing this again?” she asked suspiciously.

“So that you’d stop being delusional when it comes to your little vamp-lover-girl get-togethers and experience sharing,” his eyes never left hers as he said it.

Bobby blinked caught unawares. She nervously took fleeting glances to the left and to the right.

“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about,” she pointed her forefingers together.

Minjun closed his eyes. It was the first sign of his slight annoyance.

“Since you are so lost,” he began slowly. “I shall provide an extensive explanation: You are not the only human involved with us. You differ in a way that you were scouted by Yena, and you work with foreign vampires, _id est_ , us,” he opened his eyes hunching his broad shoulders. “However, there are other boys and girls out there who deal with the locals, and usually they force themselves onto the vampires, ready to show their loyalty by any means possible. And you sometimes meet up with these people, correct?” there was a slight stir in his eyebrows.

“C-correct,” Bobby was afraid he might charm her and, despite considering herself relatively deranged, the girl treasured her conscious mind, so she decided to comply.

“And what is it they talk about the most?”

“Vampire bite, how much they want it,” Bobby squeaked.

“Why?” he urged her further. They were finally on the right track.

“Because it’s sexy as hell?” Bobby’s voice became very high-pitched.

Minjun sighed closing his eyes and nodding.

“That is one of the most common misconceptions,” he stood up, slowly walking around the table, eventually stopping in front of the comfy sofa looking down at Bobby. “It hurts to be bitten. Even for a vampire. How come you humans are so delusional about it, I do not comprehend.”

“But don’t you have some kind of venom that works like painkillers?” Bobby pouted.

“The venom does eliminate pain, but it’s not a good idea to use it,” Minjun sat next to her. His crimson turtleneck looked so warm that for a second Bobby wanted to rub her face into it.

“Wh-why?” she tried to keep on track with the conversation.

“Venom is used for turning,” he explained. “And your body starts producing it only after a certain point… Among us… only me, Chansung, and Khun are old enough to have it.”

“Well then… can’t you use a small dose of it for painkilling without actually TURNING someone?” Bobby suggested.

“It still leads to various side effects,” Minjun shook his head. “Like, your skin gets really sensitive to the UVs, and so on. It’s better not to leave any trace of feeding. So, although it’s tedious, we don’t really use it while feeding… And…

“You know, everyone has their own preferences. Some never kill the prey, some always go for the full drain. For example, Khun prefers the full drain. After that, he can go on without feed for a month or two; he’s old enough to do that.”

Bobby blinked slowly wondering why Minjun was sharing this with her. Perhaps he was just trying to scare her off. However, despite the fact that some of her friends were disillusioned with the realities of the vampire world, she knew it was not all sunshine and daisies. Oh wait, no sunshine whatsoever in the first place.

“So… that means there’s nothing nice about the bite whatsoever?” she asked in a disappointed fashion instead of trying to look shocked or appalled.

“Well,” Minjun looked up pursing his lips. “Unless it’s applied properly during sex or you just have a really… big pain kink.”

“Perhaps I do…” Bobby blurted out earning a sharp stare from the old vampire. He then sighed and opened his palm saying:

“Your arm.”

“What?”

“Your arm, you won’t get it unless someone does it to you.”

Bobby pulled her arms close to her chest, her eyes as big as tennis balls.

“Oh, for the love of… weren’t you offering Wooyoung to have a bite just two days ago?” Minjun thought there was something very off with this girl.

“But you have the venom…” she bit her lower lip.

“I won’t turn you. Look, it’s not the first time I’m having this “talk” with a human, OK? Trust me,” he beckoned her come closer.

“Eonni too?” Bobby edged a little closer, still being slightly weary of him. She suddenly wished they weren’t alone in this big house. With all the others asleep, it felt somewhat creepy.

“Yena was perceptive enough to figure things out by herself. Plus, I can’t deplete an anaemic person who’s like a daughter to me. She already takes vitamin supplements in horse-like measures. Don’t worry, I haven’t turned anyone in my entire life and surely am not going to start with you,” he snatched her right wrist, pulling up her sleeve. Bobby blinked.

“Wait… what? I thought you were all related… like, I really thought you turned Chansung at the least…”

Minjun let her arm fall into his lap, still holding her at the wrist. It was really becoming a lecture on vampire world 101.

“No… our coven is like… what do you call it… a surrogate family? Basically, we’re all… orphans. Usually the master takes care of their offspring for quite some time, guiding and helping. As vampires can’t really have children in a sense that humans can, turning someone into a vampire is a very responsible task,” he leaned against the sofa backrest. “You know how they say that blood is thicker than water? Well, for vampires it’s ten times as that. Your first feed is your master. It creates a strong bond between you. It gives you an imprint, like when a new-born calf suckles beestings off its mother. But… among us, I’m the only one who had the first feed from my actual maker…”

“What happened?” Bobby was all ears.

“My master got too weary and committed suicide. Chansung’s master was killed. Khun was abandoned, and Taec… well, he’s a whole different case. Our two younglings… they also didn’t get the feed, so… essentially, if your master doesn’t take care of your feed, you create the bond with the first vampire you suck into…”

“… and in Chansung’s case... that was you?” Bobby was basically on the edge of her seat.

“Correct,” Minjun nodded. “And since Chansung was Khun’s first feed, we’re all inevitably connected in a chain of blood share… and so on and so forth. And now Junho fed on Chansung, so I guess he’s officially in. It’s just Wooyoung left. He hasn’t had any vampire blood as of yet. But we also can’t make him feed, you know. His loyalties for us, whatever he might have, lies only in his mindset. Not in his blood.”

“Sounds like tons of chemistry to me,” Bobby mumbled. She never really liked chemistry.

“I suppose it is,” Minjun smiled. “You know it’s actually even possible to form that type of bond with a human, if they have a unique blood composition, but in such rare cases, it eventually results in the human being turned, because losing someone you share the blood bond with is highly painful, both physically and psychologically…” he trailed off and then suddenly shook himself, as if forcing his mind to come back to there and now. “OK,” his grip on her wrist tightened. “Enough of prep talk.”

And before she could let alone as much as squeak, he pulled her sleeve up even higher and sunk his fangs into her forearm. It took two seconds and a half for her brain to register the pain.

“Ow!” her brows knotted in a tight frown. It really hurt like crap. Although the sensation of his tongue sliding up and down the wound was sort of ticklish.

Skilfully clamping her veins with his lean fingers, Minjun raised his head running his tongue over his teeth, with the blood covering only his lips. He sure could work clean. Didn’t spill a single drop on their clothes or the sofa.

“I told you there was nothing great about it,” he said giving her an eye.

“Well yeah, but you could’ve at least war—JESUS CHRIST, would you stop doing that?!” Bobby jumped in her seat as Khun suddenly appeared out of nowhere right in front of them.

“God…” she put her healthy hand on her chest. “Almost gave me a heart attack,” and then she noticed something. “Oh… new hair?” Bobby could swear just yesterday this vampire’s hair was hazelnut brown. Now it shone in a perfect platinum dishevelled blond. For some reason, that made him look even more other-worldly.

“Modern hair dye is something Khun likes this century for,” Minjun eyed the younger vampire up and down.

Apart from the new hair colour he was dressed in a dark suit as usual, except he was wearing a tee for a change. Not the usual dress shirt under his jacket.

“And he doesn’t move in human speed if he sees no need for it,” the eldest felt compelled to explain the kinks of their coven member. The person in question, however, stood there fully focused on Bobby’s forearm and the wound. He looked enthralled, his nostrils obviously devouring the scent.

“ _You’re Thai_ ,” he said in his language.

“ _Umm, yes, my mum immigrated here from Yala_ ,” Bobby switched into it as well although her Thai was somewhat accented. “ _It’s…”_

“ _I know where Yala is,”_  Khun cut in.

“He is originally from Ayutthaya,” Minjun offered.

“Huh?” Bobby turned to him with a puzzled expression on her face. History was not her piece of cake. Not to mention foreign history.

“Siamese kingdom that existed from 1351 to 1767,” Minjun spilled out in a Wikipedia-fashion.

“Oh…” momentarily she was lost for words.

It was strange for a coven of Korean vampires to have a Thai member. She could bet there was a long story behind it. But then she suddenly imagined Khun wearing traditional Thai attire and that led to a major snort.

“Hyung,” he addressed Minjun still staring at the wound. “May I?”

“Why of course,” the elder smirked, and they obviously didn’t bother to use human speed again, because Bobby didn’t even grasp when and how Minjun’s hands on her forearm were replaced with Khun’s fingers, and the ancient Thai was leaning towards the wound. Not a single drop of blood was spilt during the switch. Those two were really the best at working clean.

Bobby clenched her teeth mentally getting ready for another fiery jab, but instead, she had a horde of shiver ants run up and down her spine when Khun’s tongue slithered over Minjun’s teeth marks in a painstakingly slow fashion.

“Uhhhhhhhh…” she noted eloquently.

“Our saliva has healing properties,” Minjun explained settling down in an armchair and opening his notebook.

“Oh…” was the best thing she could say. Bobby could feel her forearm going numb and itchy. It definitely meant that the wound was closing bit by bit. Khun was licking with his eyes closed, his long eyelashes basically brushing at his cheeks.

“You taste like a knife,” he said looking up at her. “Sharp.”

Bobby stared.

“And you’re type B.”

Her brain cogwheels squeaked as she tried to make it work and remember… what were their preferences again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a heavily edited version of the Vampire PM fic I wrote many years ago, but never managed to complete. I hope I can finally do it this year, hence I'm rebooting this humongous work on AO3. Please wish me luck.
> 
>  
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Egle0702)


	2. #2

_Hanseong, Joseon 1880s_

 

He glided over the tiled roofs wishing he could fly. Centuries of training, and he still lagged behind in the field. Minjun was beginning to think that he simply wasn’t meant to fly in general.

Chansung cursed and jumped off another roof, soaring across four or five houses at the same time. It was a cold midnight in December, but people were up in the streets shouting and yelling. He could hear gunfire in the distance. The general ruckus was a good cover, and in times like these the hunt could have been exceptionally successful, but there were other things on his mind now.

Quickly covering a good part of the city across the rooftops, he knew he was getting closer. That scent. That unpleasant scent that stuck at the back of your throat like an annoying phlegm and made you retch. He knew the scent. He’d encountered it twice in the last two centuries and both times it sparked an indescribable fury within. Especially as the person the scent belonged to would always get away in the end.

He worried about Khun. Would the Thai go after him? Or would he find the Thai first? Khun had never had a feed of him, and they didn’t have a bond, but that bastard still had some kind of an influence over the vampire he turned some two centuries ago. Minjun had declared that they’d have to get rid of Khun’s maker back when Khun became the new member of their little family, but it proved to be a task not so easy to accomplish.

Probably the biggest reason they wanted to eliminate the vampire was that despite the absence of an imprint, Khun could still unconsciously feel him even over a great distance. The connection was like an umbilical cord that refused to be cut off. Having been abandoned, Khun didn’t want to have anything to do with his maker. But those ties were impossible to destroy when he was still alive and roaming the world.

The reason it was hard to eliminate the vampire was that, in fact, he was old. Ancient. Older than Minjun. And he would always have an offspring or two at his side working as very efficient shields. Seeing how well he treated his other progeny only made Khun more furious.

They didn’t really look for him on purpose. That would have required too much time and energy, and Khun didn’t want his family to be consumed by his own grudge and desire for revenge. Besides, a vampire this old was supposed to be known pretty well in the nocturnal world, and they were sure that they would run into him sooner or later. Such assumption had proven to be true twice in the last two centuries. But he had got away every single time.

Chansung jumped down the roof and hid right under the cornice, pressing himself to the wall of a random house. He was furious but realistic: with Minjun currently in Pyongyang, he and Khun could never take on a vampire that old. His most reasonable option was to find the younger vampire and make sure they stay away until the maker was out of town.

A group of people ran down the street dressed in military uniforms. Someone shouted orders. Japanese. Chansung took in a deep breath. Khun was close. Along with some other vampire that he couldn’t recognize, but at least that wasn’t the mak—wait. Chansung suddenly looked up sucking the air deep into his nose. That sickly scent was still there.

He jumped on the roof again and half-ran half-glided towards the opposite direction, people yelling and shouting down in the streets. He could hear commands in Chinese. Pledges in Korean. Curses in Japanese. It was obviously a coup going on down there in the declining Joseon at the moment, but, as much as he loved history, he really REALLY had to find Khun.

There was a warm sensation in his stomach, and he knew that was it. Taking the final leap off the roof, Chansung soared across two more houses into a relatively calm town area and landed in a secluded alley, his feet planting firmly onto a snowy ground. The alley was so old and shabby, there were sharp and blunt wooden poles sticking out of every single wall out there.

There were blotches of red on the white snow. Khun was panting heavily with his hand clamped over a wound on his left shoulder, his white clothes ripped into shreds, stains of blood all over it. He had his nose broken and lip cracked, but he still couldn’t stop staring furiously at someone in front of him. He acknowledged Chansung’s presence when his shoulder relaxed at little bit. He didn’t look so tense anymore, but he didn’t take his eyes off his opponent.

Chansung immediately glanced right. There was a female vampire at the dead-end of the alley. Short, dark-haired and dark-eyed with a very high nose and extensively red lips. From his journeys Chansung recalled that people who looked like that lived far across vast Asian deserts and steppes, somewhere next to a big sea. Judging from the sickly scent all over her, Chansung had to make a conclusion that Khun’s maker also used to travel a lot.

What he didn’t quite get was why she was holding a human in front of her as a shield, grinning fiendishly as if Khun could be stopped by a death threat to a human life. The man she was currently choking in her iron clutches was tall and definitely Korean, with prominent cheekbones and ears, dressed in Western clothes and a sword attached to his waist. However, Chansung could swear he could hardly pass for a military man.

“Let me guess,” Chansung walked over to Khun, keeping his eyes on the crazy-looking female in front of them. “Your sibling?”

“One of them,” Khun coughed standing up slowly.

“What’s with the human?” he asked helping Khun stand straight.

“She’s threatening to turn him if I don’t stay put,” Khun leaned into Chansung’s shoulder.

“Can she do that?”

“She’s older than you.”

So, she’s got the venom. Chansung gave it a little thought. Though not too deep.

“And why should we care? Come on, let’s get out of here and find a place where I can give you some blood and you can go back to normal.”

Khun looked up at him wearing an expression that indicated just appalling he found that suggestion.

“ _A progeny still in custody of its master is not allowed to produce any offspring of its own without its master’s supervision_ ,” he quoted. “Now am I right or am I right?”

“Damn it,” Chansung cursed quietly. “You are right. I’m on it,” and he lunged at the predator and its prey because he could already see the female baring fangs at her victim.

He was in her personal space in no time, and he was about to grapple the man out of her grip, the man who didn’t whimper and just stayed still throughout his ordeal looking absolutely composed (Chansung was impressed). But what Chansung didn’t foresee was Khun coming from the other side with the obvious intention to rip the female’s throat open.

Sensing a bigger concentration of murderous intent from Khun, she swung her right arm in a flash, knocking Khun out of her way and sending him flying into a shabby wall of a random hut full of wooden poles. With a tight knot of fear in his stomach, Chansung moved faster than his thoughts, dashing around the woman and catching Khun just in time: Vampires and wooden poles didn’t go too well together. Chansung ripped his upper garment in process, but landed safely with Khun in his arms.

However, those few stalled seconds were enough for her to sink her fangs into the tall man. He growled at the shock, but not at the pain because it suddenly disappeared. There were just rivers of blood staining his shirt and jacket.

“Shit,” Khun cursed. There was really nothing they could do. Predators and all that, interrupting someone in the midst of feeding was just something couldn’t do. It would’ve been worse than attacking a human while they took a crap in a lavatory: it was just that personal.

What they didn’t expect though was the resistance from the man with the fangs in his neck. She was more than halfway there, and it made Khun sick to hear her gulp the blood hungrily and suckle at his skin, but when she raised her head to take a very big gulp, her chin all red and shiny, the man suddenly squirmed.

She was obviously strong enough to get a hold of him, but perhaps she underestimated the frenzy of the dying when they wished to live. It all happened too fast, and Chansung couldn’t quite grasp how it was possible, but the man rammed his feet into the ground and leaned forward with the vampire now clinging to him, her feet dangling in the air.

Perhaps it was possible because he was a head and a half taller than her. Gathering the last remnants of his strength, with the predator now actually hanging on his nape, he growled and jumped backwards crashing into a wooden wall, two poles piercing right through her. And through him.

“SHIT!!” Khun and Chansung exclaimed simultaneously, meeting each other’s eye and running together towards the macabre scene.

She screeched like a dying animal. He groaned like a wounded bear, but managed to rip her arms off him. With a terrible force of willpower and never-ending pain, he pulled himself off her and off the stakes piercing through his upper body. With the adrenaline pumping through his veins and his consciousness clouding bit by bit, he turned around, unsheathed his sword, and, in the last motion of his sane mind, sliced her head off. It bumped down and rolled away on the snow like a grotesque hairy ball. Drawing the last breath, the man collapsed onto the ground in a pool of blood.

Chansung examined him first. He couldn’t quite believe the shit they’d just witnessed. Taking careful sniffs of air, he was pretty much certain.

“This is it,” he said.

“Gone?” Khun kneeled next to him, his wounds closing already, although he still looked deadbeat.

“Changing,” Chansung looked up at the younger vampire.

“You’re kidding me,” Khun stared in disbelief.

“The venom has just kicked in. Right when his heartbeat stopped,” he explained. “Had it been any sooner, he would’ve started disintegrating along with that bitch,” Chansung shook his head. “Perfect timing.”

“I’ve never heard of anyone killing their maker while being turned…” Khun mumbled.

“Yes, a rare specimen,” Chansung eyed the still body up and down.

“What do we do with him?”

“He’s going to be hungry when he wakes up. We can’t leave him. I say we keep him. His maker is dead, so no one’s going to claim him. And look,” he pointed at his outfit. “He’s wearing Western clothes, probably been working for one of the foreign missions here. A person well versed in today’s affairs could be useful. Hyung would understand.”

“I guess you’re right,” Khun didn’t sound convinced. “Where do we hide him until he wakes up?”

Chansung looked around the alley.

“Those shacks look decent enough. We can crash in for the day. It’s going to be cold, and no one would looking come around here. Plus, we’re in the midst of cloudy days, so we can stay alert just in case.”

“And her remains will disintegrate by morning,” Khun added.

“Sure,” Chansung nodded standing up and lumbering the tall man across his shoulder. “Yah,” he poked Khun with his free hand while heading towards the closest shack. “When he wakes up, you give him the feed.”

“Why?” Khun trailed after him, obviously not thrilled with the suggestion.

“Well, he’s like your… nephew or something,” Chansung laughed. “Besides, you’re old enough already. And think of it, from now on, you’d have a maknae to order around,” he wiggled his eyebrows.

“That…” Khun thought over it. “Wouldn’t be such a bad thing.”

“My words exactly.”

They went as deep into the shack as they could. The entire block was obviously abandoned, but one could never be too careful. After a thorough sniffing, when they were sure they were alone in the building, Chansung laid the man on the floor and blacked out next to him immediately.

Khun couldn’t sleep. He stayed up all night, and then all day, and then part of the next night again, thinking of what it meant to be responsible for someone, of how Chansung and Minjun had been taking care of him for the last two centuries. How they took him in, a complete stranger and a foreigner, and gave him something very close to a family. Or brotherhood. Something he had never had. He sure had had lots of siblings in his human life, but being a noble prince, one had been too preoccupied with hierarchy, ceremonies, and the country life to actually develop anything distantly domestic with one’s blood relatives.

In fact, he was never good at dealing with blood relatives. Even in his vampire life. Khun snorted ripping away his blood-stained sleeve and completely exposing his right arm. His true blood vampire “family” was admittedly deranged, and they obviously did not need him. While Chansung and Minjun kept him despite his initial brutal attack on Chansung. He might as well try and extend the tradition, being a guide to this new-born here.

The new-born opened his eyes on the second night after the death of his maker and took a careful look around. A tall vampire crashing on his right, dark circles beneath his big eyes. Really shabby ceiling. Another vampire, dressed in mutilated white sitting on his left. Looking at him.

Something in his dark brown eyes made the new-born lay very still although its first instinct was to get up and get the hell out of here as fast as possible. Yet he tried to swallow the saliva that wasn’t there.

“I remember you,” he uttered in a low, slightly cracking voice.

Khun moved closer. Reaching out his bare arm, he gave a very soft, almost hidden smile.

“My name is Nichkhun,” he said.

“I am… Taecyeon,” the new-born sat up slowly.

Khun clenched his fist making the veins in his forearm pop up, urging Taecyeon to do what he wanted to.

“Welcome to the family.”

 

***

 

 

_The United Kingdom, present day_

 

Opening the menu and hitting the table with it, Bobby hid behind a list of not-so-healthy food and hissed through her clenched teeth:

“What. Are. You. Doing. Here?”

Quickly shifting his sparkling eyes to the left and to the right, he hunched pointing hesitantly at himself.

“Me?”

Bobby slapped his forearm with her menu.

“Yes! You, genius!” she was on the verge of hyperventilating. “I mean… seriously?!” the girl looked around a busy café they were in.

Taec hogged the table with his elbows, putting his chin on his arms and staring right at her. She had to blink; his eyes were too mesmerizing to be honest.

“Would you believe it if I told you Yena sent me to spy on you?” he asked wiggling his eyebrows.

Bobby’s jaw dropped.

“Why?”

Taec straightened up in his chair, slapping his hands onto his cheeks and blinking so fast that if he had had long and thick eyelashes, he would’ve caused a major wind gust.

“Because I fit the part the best?”

…

Bobby eyed him up and down. Now that he put it this way… with his naturally bronze skin he sure found it easier to blend in with people because he didn’t look as pale as other vampires. And Taec was probably the most adept at faking human reflexes, habits, speech patterns, and what have you.

For today, he even exchanged his usual high-collar coat into an Eskimo jacket with a very furry hood, and styled his dark hair into unusually attractive dishevelled do. If Bobby hadn’t known it better, she could’ve easily mistaken him for a random university student. Albeit an extremely good-looking one.

They were sitting in a café located in a huge shopping mall, all draped with Christmas decorations, bustling with people on an early Friday night. The café specialized in sweets, warm drinks, and desserts, so Taec couldn’t take his eyes off the displays.

Bobby felt reluctant to order anything at the thought he might want to nibble at her again in order to get his dose of sugar. Suddenly, the prospect of a vampire bite didn’t seem as alluring as before.

Her friends were fashionably late. Just ten minutes. Taec noticed a redhead with big green scarf around her shoulders and a mixed teen sporting dreads before they even opened the door to the café.

Bobby waved vigorously, almost falling out of her chair to catch their attention, and Taec suddenly felt somewhat nervous. He was a vampire working undercover, pretending to be human, spying on humans who meet to talk about… vampires. Oh hey, he blinked, that actually sounds like fun. He smiled without showing his teeth as the girls came closer.

“Hey, Bobby!”

“Hey, who’s this you’ve got here, eh?”

The girls were quick to pull back the chairs and sit down, grabbing the menus, and giving Taec thorough once-overs. He was about to get up from his chair and give a bow, but then he figured this was the wrong century and the wrong place for that. So, he just raised his hand.

“Hey guys, I’m William, Bobby’s friend,” he uttered in a perfect British English with a slight tinge of Scottish accent.

“I’m Brittany,” the redhead winked.

“Keira,” the girl with dreads nodded, and what followed was something he didn’t expect. “No offence, but you don’t really look “William,” you adopted?”

“Hey!” Bobby gasped at her friend. “Rude!”

“Yeah, I’m adopted,” Taec nodded without missing a beat. To think of it, that wasn’t exactly a lie.

“Guys, guys,” Bobby raised her hands signalling for them to stop. “It’s cool. He’s one of us, ok?”

“Oh…”

“Oh, so…” Keira leaned onto the table, fixing her intense brown-eyed gaze on him, and all Taec could think of was chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. “How long have you been dealing with the vamps?”

They were pretty straightforward. And he liked it. Though Bobby felt jittery about what their questions (and his answers) might lead to.

“Oh… all my life basically,” he shrugged.

Keira blinked. She then met Brittany’s eyes, their mouths gaping open.

“Oh. My. God…” they basically fell onto the table. “Your adoptive parents are vamps?!”

Taec leaned back. Such quick jump from one thought to a conclusion sure took him by surprise. But hey… why the hell not.

“Yeah,” he nodded. Bobby almost fell off her chair. He didn’t even NEED to lie, Jesus Christ.

“That is like… so awesome,” Brittany’s green eyes were basically twinkling.

“I know right,” Keira nodded. “You must then know tons of them.”

“Pretty much,” Taec grinned as a waiter came to take their orders and their chaotic conversation was interrupted for little while.

Bobby eyed the vampire suspiciously as he ordered a glass of warm wine. She’s heard that usually, if a vampire consumed something they couldn’t digest; they were bound to throw up. And a vampire throwing up was not a pretty sight to behold.

“So, what’s it like?” Brittany asked once the waiter was gone.

“What?” Taec blinked.

“Living with the walking dead, of course,” Keira stared at him as if to say “duh.”

“Ah, that would be the zombies,” he nodded.

“What?”

“The walking dead. Zombies,” he explained. The girls (all three) stared at him. Something clearly didn’t connect well in their heads.

“You mean to say that…” Keira began, sounding very sceptic. “That vamps are living things?”

“Well… not really… but they do have a metabolism, although it’s super slow… I mean, why else would they need to get new shots of blood all the time,” he shrugged again. “They can control it and even make their bodies warm… Even their hearts beat sometimes…”

“Really?” all three girls gaped at him in disbelief.

“Yeah… sometimes… like, if a vampire is too worried or scared or excited…”

“Like during sex?” Keira asked, and Taec almost choked.

“Pretty much,” he coughed when his vocal chords clamped from the shock. “But vampires can’t maintain decent metabolism all the time. That would be suicidal. Pretty much like going out into the sun.”

“Not until there’s an ultimate sun-block lotion invented, huh?” Bobby was drawing circles on her tissue with a toothpick.

“Oh!” Brittany jumped in her seat. “Speaking of lotions. This is so random, but oh my god, I saw this weird girl buying lotion today and the assistant was like, get this orange scented one it’s like the best, but she was like, do you have scentless lotion brand, my boyfriend hates artificial scents… like… you think she could be dating a vamp?”

“Er…” Bobby was doubtful. These girls were so crazy they saw vampires everywhere… and couldn’t tell one was sitting right in front of them.

“Or her boyfriend might just have allergies,” Taec suggested.

“Yeah, come on,” Keira knocked Brittany in the shoulder. “Everyone knows vampires are allergic to garlic, not lotions…”

“That… depends…” Taec was considering how much he could spill out.

“What do you mean?” Bobby cocked an eyebrow.

“Vampires are like humans. Some allergies are more widespread; some are very individual. Allergy to garlic or silver is more common, but I know a bunch who are no longer allergic to garlic because the person they’re staying with cooks lots of stuff with lots of garlic.”

A phantom garlic scent came to Bobby’s nostrils from the corners of her mind in the shape of Yena’s trademark roasted beef. Oh snap.

“You think you could bring him over more often?” Keira asked Bobby. “This guy Billy here is pretty fun.”

“Bobby and Billy,” Brittany giggled. Bobby wanted to face-palm.

“And it’s fun to listen to him before we can have a bite of those cakes,” Keira added.

“Bite,” Brittany pulled a very whiny face. “I still haven’t been bitten, I mean, can you believe that?”

“I know right,” Keira rolled her eyes. “I mean, how much longer, honestly…”

Bobby and Taec shivered in sync.

“Vampire bite isn’t that nice, you guys…” Taec mumbled.

“Yeah,” Bobby nodded. “It hurts like hell.”

“You’ve been bitten?!!”

“Jealoussssssssssssssssssss…”

“You guys,” this time Bobby hit her head onto the table top.

Right then their orders arrived and both girls decided to a pay visit to the bathroom. Together. Taec took a sip of his wine through a straw watching them go; he couldn’t really get what it was with girls going to the restroom together all the time. And he was old enough to know lots of stuff.

The moment her friends were gone, Bobby jumped in her seat immediately turning to Taec.

“How do you do that?” she gasped.

“Do what?” he pulled a silver case out of his pocket and put it onto their table.

“This. All this. How come you sound so… NORMAL?!” Bobby flailed. “And you’re like… totally OK with them staring at you.”

“Well, such a good-looking guy like me…” he wiggled his eyebrows.

“Ok Taecyeon!!” Bobby frowned obviously being very serious.

Taec opened the case and pulled round glasses out of it, putting them on.

“My inner geek rejoices,” he explained beginning to flail his arms around and grin like crazy.

“Ok Potter,” she grumbled digging into her chocolate cake.

Taec probably would’ve retorted with something like “Yeah, so? I’ve read all the Harry Potter books thrice!” but his phone rang. Digging into his big and deep jacket pocket, he fished it out and answered immediately.

“Yeh!” he intently listened to the person on the other end. “Yeh, OK. I’ll be right there. You just stay put,” ending the conversation just as soon as it’s started, he got up from his seat after taking one last sip of the wine. “It’s really interesting, but I have to go. Sorry. Need to pick Yena up from the hospital,” he sounded apologetic. “You have fun, and if they keep on rambling about the vampire bite, just grab a fork and stab them. The effect’s pretty much the same,” he smirked. And ran off.

Bobby didn’t even have time to ask if Yena was alright. She stared dumbly at his empty seat, then at his half-empty glass of wine, and she couldn’t take it anymore. The girl leaned over and, catching the straw between her lips, she took one experimental sip. It really was warm red wine.

 

 

***

 

 

On a busy street full of cars and people and what not the traffic light seemed to have a mind of its own. That is, no matter how long she waited, the green light just refused to light up. Perhaps it was a punishment for not keeping the promise and not waiting at the main hospital building.

She had left. Not that she loved taking walks. Not to mention, she was sure to encounter a vexed Ok Taecyeon later, but something just pushed her to move on. Yena once again checked if all of her duffle coat buttons were hooked. For some reason, it felt chilly despite the warm clothes she was wearing. Eventually she just decided to blame it on her dysfunctional blood circulation.

The red light was still stubbornly on, and Yena was beginning to think she would never cross the street. She could see some kids running across it when the flow of cars was not as rapid. With Christmas carols flooding her ears from nearby shops, she just closed her eyes and took a step. She didn’t see a car coming.

 

_Thump, thump_

 

The next thing she knew, her nose was stuck into a sweater that smelled heavily of sugar and chocolate. She was glued to something hard and cold so fast; she didn’t grasp how it happened. Her long blonde hair flapped in the chilly wind. It took her a while to realize she was taking quick shallow breaths.

 

_Thump, thump_

 

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” she shivered as the sweater vibrated with a low agitated exclamation.

Looking up she saw Taec frowning down at her. He was holding Yena close, their bodies flush. Safe on the pavement, close to a small book shop. Even with his round glasses, styled hair, and funny clothes, he really didn’t look human anymore.

“What is up with you?” he shook her lightly. “I’m gonna tell Minjun if you don’t quit!”

 

_Thump, thump_

 

Pressing her hand to his chest, Yena looked him straight in the eye. She was wearing pink contacts today.

“Two beats every ten seconds,” she said calmly, wrestling her ragged breathing under control. “Don’t worry about me that much.”

 

 

***

 

 

Wooyoung looked into the night. It was windy, but he wasn’t cold. He missed that. He missed the feeling when chilly wind would bite at your cheeks making them pink and then red, and then white and eventually freezing to death…

He shook his head, making himself focus on the stars so that he wouldn’t hear what was going on behind his back.

They were in a tall bell tower of an old gothic church. Chansung was striking a deal with one local vampire, all dressed in a long coat buttoned up right to his chin. Despite the common stereotype, Chansung was definitely not too fond of leather. He preferred cotton. And wool. Silk made too much noise.

Junho stood right next to Chansung not even bothering to play along and pretend it was cold: He was dressed in jeans and a light brown jacket, his eyes focused on the two humans the local vampire had brought in.

Wooyoung sighed looking away. Since they were officially in the Minjun coven’s custody as new-borns, a part of their custodian duties included teaching the new-borns how to feed properly, and, more precisely, to develop the ability to control their feeding urges.

Wooyoung didn’t want to remember his first failures at control. Back in Seoul, he had tried thrice, and even under Chansung and Taecyeon’s supervision, all three times he was very close to killing the person.

There were times when vampires didn’t care much about human welfare, of course. But these days, in a globalized world, when people were connected and watched over, and registered and what not, vampires had to be a little bit more careful. Therefore, in times like these the familiars – humans who knew of the vampire existence and collaborated with them to various degrees – came very useful. A hospital bill for fluids and a few packs of iron, folic acid, and vitamin B was a lot more welcomed than the exposure of the nocturnal world to the general public.

That much Wooyoung could understand although he still needed to study vampire customs and laws. He figured he could ask Taec about it: the youngest hyung seemed to be a little bit of a nerd type. Wooyoung was sure Taecyeon would’ve been a nerd had he been born a century later. He had to find what to offer in return for the lessons, though. Taec was a bit of a give-and-take type. Equivalent exchange and all that. Sometimes Wooyoung believed Taec had just read too much of Fullmetal Alchemist.

“Thanks mate,” Chansung nodded at the local vampire who had provided them with the two volunteers. “The agreement between our elders holds.”

“Whatever rocks her boat, man,” the local vampire was obviously younger than Chansung, but he looked older. Perhaps he was turned in his early 40s: fair hair and pale blue eyes, this type was surely common around here. “Our master seldom keeps agreements with newcomers for such a long time,” he grinned. “Your big bro must be pretty exceptional.”

Chansung pulled a polite smile.

“Yes, he is.”

“Alright, I know when I’m no longer needed,” the vampire was about to leave the bell tower. “Bring them back to our place later, will ya?” he said nodding at the humans.

“Sure,” Chansung nodded again.

With the vampire gone, Chansung turned to look at the humans. He didn’t give them a proper check-up before, but his nose told him these were good specimen. A boy and a girl in their early 20. It obviously wasn’t their first time assisting vampires in this kind of business, and Chansung wondered whether they had a very high pain threshold or were simply downright masochistic.

With a slight nod of his head, he beckoned Junho to come closer.

“Hello,” the youngling smiled taking a step towards humans.

Wooyoung sighed looking away again. In a way, he was jealous of Junho. Jealous of how fast he accepted what he was, and how diligently he tried to learn and get used to the new way of life… to this new type of existence. Wooyoung himself was not quite sure of why he was such a stubborn head. He wasn’t too conceited to believe it was his scruples that held him back. He was hungry. And all the non-human blood he consumed sure reminded him of soybean cutlets posing as a beef steak. But something kept him from feeding normally.

He knew he would gain control if he practiced. Junho was close to graduating from this course and being able to feed by himself already. But whenever Wooyoung tried, the memories of his first feeds and the inability to stop, the desire to drain until the last drop would come back at him again, and he hated it. He really hated the feeling that he couldn’t deny his instincts. So, he just kept on consuming whatever kept him going. Perhaps he was also slightly masochistic.

“Wooyoung,” Chansung called.

“I’m not doing this,” Wooyoung turned to look at him.

“Not again,” Junho buried his face into his big hands. “Wooyoung, just accept it, and do it.”

“What, you have a vegetarian amongst you, too?” the boy asked raising his eyebrows. He seemed to be amused: surely had been living together with vampires for a long time now.

“Unfortunately,” Chan sighed frustrated. “So, you’re just gonna scram again?”

“Sorry, hyung,” Wooyoung turned to leave.

“Wait,” Chansung moved towards him in a flash, before Wooyoung could even step onto the ledge of the bell tower. Chansung opened his palm. “Your hand.”

Wooyoung blankly stared at the elder’s fingers.

“Excuse me?” he raised his eyebrows that hid under his long bangs.

“I can’t make you feed and you’re not bound to us,” Chansung explained. “But you’re still under our custody as a new-born, and I’m responsible for you in Taec’s absence, so… your hand.”

Wooyoung rather hesitantly reached out his hand, but Chansung snatched at his wrist before he could change his mind. He grinned baring his fangs.

“Think of it as a pager a thoughtful parent gives to his offspring,” he said and bit into the softest part of Wooyoung’s palm.

The kid furrowed his nose at the pain, the word “bitch” almost rolling off his lips, but he watched attentively as Chansung suckled small trickles of his blood.

“Pagers are outdated,” the youngling pointed out. “Parents get GPS trackers for their kids these days, you know?”

“My apologies,” Chansung looked up, licking his lips and pulling a wicked smirk. “I’m not the one with the money in our coven. I prefer traditional methods.”

Wooyoung looked down at his palm to see the wound closing already.

“You know, despite all the crap you consume,” Chansung ran his tongue over his teeth. “You taste pretty good. Or perhaps it is so because we have the same blood type.”

The new-born gave his elder a blank stare.

“Later, hyung,” Wooyoung said and jumped off the ledge of the bell tower. Instead of landing gracefully on the ground and running off in a lightning-speed, he soared away piercing the nocturnal sky above the city.

“Goddammit those naturals,” Chansung muttered under his breath watching him fly away.

“Hyung,” Junho’s voice brought him back to the situation at hand. “With Wooyoung gone, can I have both?”

Chansung turned around quickly, smirking at the youngling, his lips still red with Wooyoung’s blood.

“No,” he said. “I’m hungry.”

 

 

***

 

 

Shiny black cat purred blissfully, comfortably nested in Yena’s lap. Purring intensified with every stroke as Yena’s hand ran through his entire body. Bruno purred with the intention to convey “don’t hurt me, I’m vulnerable at the moment,” but for all Yena cared, she simply enjoyed the vibration spreading from the cat.

She was googling random scientific articles on haemoglobin and DNA sitting in her living-room, a dim twilight hovering in the house. At 11 p.m., she had left the lights in the room burn to 50% of their entire capacity. Not that Yena was trying to save on her electricity bills, she simply enjoyed dimmed lighting.

The house was drenched with the garlic scent that hovered around after she had cooked some spicy fried rice for dinner. If anyone was allergic, that was their problem.

The front door clicked quietly and Bruno raised his head alarmed, his pupils dilating in a predatory fashion. Junho emerged from darkness through the arch connecting the hall and the living-room. He entered the room with his light-brown jacket in hand, his curly brown-dyed hair slightly dishevelled.

“Good evening,” he nodded seeing the master of the house.

“Evening,” Yena eyed him up and down through the top of her glasses. Bruno stood up, arched his back, and leapt off Yena’s lap, scurrying over to Junho and rubbing into his legs.

“Hi to you, too,” Junho smiled watching the cat shuffle around his legs. “Sorry about the other time,” he looked up at Yena. “I didn’t know cats liked vampires that much.”

“It’s not that he likes you,” she clicked her mouse copying a line about DNA she had found interesting. “He’s just saying like... ‘you’re big, respect.’ Acknowledging your size, that you’re bigger than him.”

“What?” Junho angled his head perplexed, right when Taec jogged down the stairs with a heap of papers in his hand.

“Here’s the report you asked me to translate,” he said. “I’m done. Oh, hey Junho,” he waved the papers at the kid, who then bent down and took Bruno into his hands.

“Hyung,” Junho nodded.

Yena slowly got up from her seat and stood next to Taec, who’d walked right over to her desk. She took the papers from him and turned to look at Junho, requiring his attention.

“It’s like this,” she said and faced Taec again, looking him directly in the eye; he was some 10 cm taller. “Wow, you’re big. Respect,” and she rubbed her head into his shoulder, messing up her do, golden hair going static all over the place – he was wearing a wool sweater.

Taec stared blankly, his mouth slightly open. Junho wanted to add three lonesome dots (…) to that expression. The older vampire was completely lost for words.

“Got it?” Yena asked Junho, smoothing her dishevelled hair.

“I think so,” the kid plopped into an armchair with the cat purring in his arms.

“Good,” she nodded. “Ok,” looking back at Taec, Yena patted his arm with her papers. “Thank you. You can go now.”

Taec’s deep-set perky eyes darted from her to Junho and back, clearly realizing that he had missed something.

“O… keeeey…” he hemmed in his low voice, eventually deciding that asking for any explanation would be entirely futile. He just walked back upstairs in a slightly hunched gait.

“Here,” Yena threw the papers at Junho. “Make yourself useful.”

The pages weren’t stapled and part of Junho’s brain screeched at this young woman’s insanity, but his body reacted instinctively, and he moved in inhuman speed, successfully catching every single sheet of paper with his left hand, the cat still comfortably perched on his right forearm.

“What am I supposed to do with these?” he asked eyeing more than ten pages full of single-spaced text in Times New Roman font size 10.

“Find whatever you think is interesting,” Yena said getting back to her seat.

“It’s in English,” Junho’s eyes widened.

“Not my problem,” Yena shrugged.

Junho whined scanning the first page of an article on the newest data storage technology. He was rather decent in English comprehension, but not fluent enough when it came to articles this complicated. And to think that Taec translated that from whatever language it was written in (probably Japanese, considering the few names on the first page).

Junho felt jealous. As far as he knew, Taecyeon was fluent in ten languages or so. He didn’t know how many tongues the other older vampires could speak. Probably even more.

Sighing, he placed Bruno in his lap and began reading the article, while slowly stroking the cat. He purred. Perhaps Wooyoung was right. Taking language courses was a decent way to improve oneself. After all, they did have all the time in the world.

“Oh, by the way,” Yena uttered after a few minutes of silence when Junho was almost done with the first page. “Good job,” she stood up walking over to the kitchen right behind the corner and disappearing from Junho’s view for a few moments.

“What?” he blinked looking up from the paper, not quite sure what this girl meant.

He heard the water run into the sink, and he was sure she was washing her hands. Then the fridge door opened and closed, and eventually she came back into the room carrying an orange.

“You fed, didn’t you?” she pointed out stopping in front of her desk, eyeing him up and down. Yena’s eyes lingered on his face. Junho blinked again, his mouth falling agape.

“How d’you…?”

“It’s all over your face,” she shrugged sitting down and began peeling the orange, not forgetting to keep the fruit away from the laptop, in the case one was about to experience a juice-splash attack.

Junho watched her. Even if this woman hadn’t been anaemic, he still felt she would’ve been way beyond limits. There was something about her.

Now, Bobby was probably deranged because she was obviously in her late teens and felt the need to express herself in a blatantly loud way. However, Yena was a bit older, and there was a strange nonchalance about her, an odd strength and resignation of accepting one’s fate. For a human, this sheer power of personality was staggering. Junho found himself admiring her unawares.

“You’ve been dealing with the vampires for a long time now, haven’t you?” he asked eventually.

“I met Minjun when I was ten,” half of the orange was already peel-free. “Got interested in science and medicine when I was eleven. Most of the things I do, I figure them out myself, but I also study remotely, so I have more free time to do what I want.”

“Where does the money come from?” he figured the maintenance of this huge house wasn’t exactly cheap, and it wasn’t like the vampires were paying the lodging fee.

“Officially, I’m employed at Khun’s company. He’s the one with the money in this coven, you know,” the final piece of the peel was gone, and she tore the fruit in half. “So, sometimes I get to mix this or distil that, write a paper or something, but it’s just for the show. It’s a lot more convenient for them to keep me like this, jabbing syringes at their necks and making chemical formulae out of their blood.”

“What about your family?” he asked carefully. “You look no older than 24, how come you live alone?”

Yena froze in the middle of popping a slice of orange into her mouth. She didn’t know what to make of it. But for once, this kid was being polite and not bratty, so she figured she could indulge him.

“This is my house. My parents left it for me when they got divorced. My mum lives in her own new apartment, and she’s perfectly aware of what I’m doing. She met Minjun years ago,” the girl shrugged. “She’s pretty cool with that.”

“She’s OK with your living with six male vampires?” Junho asked incredulously.

Yena shrugged rolling her eyes.

“Knowing my mum, she’s probably just relieved her daughter’s not a lesbian or something,” she snorted.

Junho stared. And then they heard a silent bang of the front door being closed. Yena looked up with a big slice of orange in her mouth.

“Now this one obviously hasn’t fed,” she mumbled referring to the darker than dark Wooyoung, basically floating into the living-room and flopping into an armchair next to Junho.

“Evening,” he said.

“Yah, man, still hungry?” Junho eyed his limp form up and down. “Not even a drop of cow or whatever blood you take these days after you left the bell tower?”

“Leave me alone,” Wooyoung covered his face with his hand.

“You’ll have to take human blood one day, you know,” Yena pointed out assuredly, munching on her orange. “Or you’ll just flip out. And attack whoever.

“Vampires aren’t vegetarians, who can convince themselves they don’t need meat and perfectly live without it. You guys are like pandas,” she thought a bit over it. “Bamboo only. I mean, you can force your body to take other stuff, digesting and extracting all the energy it can get from alternative feed, but… you can’t cheat your body forever.”

“Yeah, man,” Junho put the papers aside, still stroking Bruno with one hand. “And you’re a natural; you should at least TRY a bit more to adapt. Don’t waste what you’ve got.”

“What I’ve got?” Wooyoung scoffed, running his hand through his perfectly straight and shiny hair. “I’ve got nothing. And this natural thing everyone’s talking about. The hell is that? Would someone care enough to explain?”

“I just feel it, dude. Can’t put it into words,” Junho shook his head.

Yena sighed. Her fingertips were yellow from all the orange peeling, and her tongue was beginning to sting from the vitamin C she was consuming.

“To put it simply,” she swallowed one more orange slice. “Naturals are individuals born to do it. It’s in their DNA. Some people have an inborn talent for dance. Some are natural-born singers. They need just a little push to open up their talent, and they can grow tremendously once they find their niche,” popping the last piece of orange into her mouth, she reached out for the box of tissues on the table; her fingers were smeared with orange juice.

“Same with vampires. For some humans, once their DNA is fused with the vampire venom, it’s charged with such a potential that they can continue developing for centuries until they reach their prime. If say, normal vampires take… 10% talent and 90% hard work, for naturals you can divide it by 30% talent and 70% work. The first evidence of being a natural is, of course, an instant ability to fly.”

Wooyoung stared blankly at her, feeling terribly numb.

“Are you saying I was born to be a vampire?” he asked in an emotionless voice.

“Not necessarily,” she shrugged. “You might’ve been born to be a snail farmer, for all I know. But your DNA just happened to have an ability to fuse well with the vampire venom. And you just happened to be bitten. That’s all.”

“Mrrrowww?” Bruno joined the conversation when Junho stopped petting him, too engrossed into what Yena had been saying.

“Yes, yes, kitty,” he scratched his ear. “I agree.”

“Junho’s right, though,” Yena got up from the sofa, rummaging through one of her baggy pants pocket, walking over to Wooyoung. “You should work harder on it. Naturals aren’t very rare, but you don’t see them often either. I’ve seen quite a few vampires in the past 10 years, but you’re only the second natural I’ve met,” she stopped in front of his armchair, now rummaging through another pocket.

“Who’s the first?” Junho asked.

“Khun,” she nodded. “Ah, and sorry Junho, you’re a really good boy, but with Wooyoung’s starving himself and all, he’s really a much better test subject…”

 

_stab_

 

“A-tta!!” Wooyoung almost jumped in his seat as Yena took another sneaky blood sample from his neck. “Nuna!! At least give me a heads up.”

“Heh, heh,” she grinned mischievously, with a modern syringe in her hand. “It’s the element of surprise that matters.”

“Whatever,” Wooyoung grumbled standing up and walking past her towards the stairs. “I’m outta here.”

“Where are you going?” Junho asked.

“Roof!” came the answer as Wooyoung was already out of their sight.

“Ok, you,” Yena tapped Junho’s shoulder with the syringe. “Continue reading. And start learning. I need someone to leave everything to when I’m gone.”

“Gone?” Junho blinked. “What? Are you dying?”

“In 50 or 60 years… yes,” she nodded. “Or in 20, if I’m lucky.”

Junho’s eyes grew twice the usual size.

“You want me to learn all that crazy haematology stuff?”

“Didn’t you say you majored in biochemistry or something?”

“Molecular _biology_ is a branch of BIOLOGY, not medicine,” Junho heaved exasperated.

“Eh, what I do here is interdisciplinary anyways,” she shrugged. “And you seem to be a trustworthy kid,” Yena nodded. “I’m a terrible teacher, but I promise to be patient.”

“Why can’t Taecyeon-hyung do it?” the prospect of cramming chemical formulae again didn’t seem too alluring for the new-born vampire.

“Taec’s scope of interests is too broad to narrow it down,” Yena walked back to her table, ready to analyse the newest blood sample.

“But this stuff is ridiculously hard!!” Junho complained waving the papers around.

“Why, you have all the time in the world,” Yena gave him another stare over the top of her glasses. “I, on the other hand, don’t, so you’d better start learning now.”

 

 

***

 

 

He could hear the chilly wind blow, and he could feel its power on his ear and how it brushed along his chin, but it left no sensation of cold or pain whatsoever. Wooyoung was lying on the roof of the house in the middle of the city, staring at the dark velvet sky, counting the stars. He could see the Great Dipper and the Little Dipper. And there was Cassiopeia a little bit to the right.

It was amazing how he could see so many stars in this city. Even with his vampire sight, he could hardly ever see any in Seoul or Busan. This country sure was foggy, but it had a clear night sky. Even in its cities.

He heard him appear with a slight disturbance in the air. The wind seemed to have changed its direction for a split of the second. And then it was the clothes that gave him away. The rustling expensive material made too much noise. And then the clack of the expensive shoes Wooyoung hated so much.

He knew he shouldn’t have, but for some reason, he found this hyung conceited, cold, and distant. And now he was even placed on the same shelf as this Emporio Armani model boy? Life sucked. No pun intended.

He could hear him sit next to him. Turning his head right, Wooyoung saw Khun looking up at the sky, his elbows on his rather bony knees, dressed in an expensive black suit. Well, as if it could ever be any other way around. His blonde hair shone in an almost ethereal fashion.

Feeling the gaze of the new-born on him, he blinked slowly and looked down at Wooyoung, his dark chocolate eyes seemingly warm and harmless. Wooyoung narrowed his eyes.

“I won’t let you bite me,” he said. “Just so you know.”

Khun pulled a wry smirk.

“Am not going to,” he looked back at the sky. “With all the swine blood you consume, I doubt you’d be anywhere near my taste.”

That ruffled Wooyoung’s self-esteem.

“You sure?” there was an edge of sarcasm in his voice. “Chansung said I taste pretty good.”

“That’s Chansung-hyung for you, kid,” Khun’s voice carried an obvious warning. “You have a death wish or something?”

“Why? Care to have a round or two?” Wooyoung had no idea what urged him to tease this hyung. Perhaps the idea that he could snap any moment was quite attractive to the part of him that combined vampire instincts and the general male competitiveness.

“I don’t fight children,” Khun said keeping his eyes on the stars, his profile absolutely calm. “Enjoy the stars while you can.”

And sat in silence for a while. Wooyoung did begin to count the stars because, honestly, with this dubious hyung at his side, he had no idea how to strike a decent conversation. He could’ve just ended up teasing him again, and he needed to maintain at least satisfactory relationships with all the members of the coven while he remained in their custody.

While counting, his thoughts trailed around, deeming different things.

“Do you ever miss the sun?” he blurted out before he could even stop himself.

Khun turned to look at him with an illegible mask on his face, as if trying to read the youngling and decide whether he was worthy of an honest reply. He was about to say something when they heard:

“Nichkhun, Wooyoung, if you two don’t mind…”

Standing up automatically, they turned around to see Minjun and Chansung float onto the roof through the skylight in the attic.

“We request a little bit of privacy,” Minjun uttered politely, but there was an undeniable authority in the way he spoke.

“Hyung,” Khun and Wooyoung nodded in synch, met each other’s eye, and then soared off into different directions without even saying their goodbyes.

“Well, then,” Minjun watched them go. “Two naturals in one coven. We’re either lucky, or incredibly burdened.”

“With their personalities just as they are,” Chansung rubbed his shoulder. “I’d say it’s a little bit of both.”

Minjun smiled softly and walked over to a small bench that was set there all year round and that had been totally ignored by Wooyoung. Sitting down, he sighed pulling his already high collar even higher to cover his mouth.

“Everything is set,” he said.

“Are you sure about this?” Chansung asked standing at his side, wind flapping at his long coat.

“Jihoon-hyung fully agrees,” Minjun nodded. “It’s useful politically and economically.”

“I didn’t ask about His Highness,” Chansung uttered under his breath. “I asked about you.”

Minjun looked up at his comrade, his peer, and the closest he’s ever had to a best friend. He smiled, his charcoal eyes shining in the starlight.

“I find it interesting. And it’s really mutually beneficial. I can learn a lot from her. And vice versa…” he hushed, his eyebrows knotting in a frown. “Why are you so concerned?”

“I could do it; you know… you don’t really have to,” Chansung pursed his lips.

“Why would you ever?” Minjun laughed. The taller vampire sagged down next to the eldest, sighing and weighing down his head.

“I’m bored,” he complained. Minjun snickered patting him on the back.

“Read a book, Chansung-ah.”

“Just because I like reading, it doesn’t mean you can dump a book on me whenever I’m bored, or you’re up to something and don’t want me involved,” Chansung punched him in the shoulder. Minjun laughed.

“Yah, Chansung-ah, you just think about it,” he hugged the younger over his shoulder. “You speak like fifteen languages and plus additional ten dialects. Imagine all the books you could read with all the time you have.”

“…” Chansung stared at the face he knew so well he could paint it perfectly with his eyes closed, using just a brush and black ink. And he originally had sucked at painting and calligraphy in general. “So, you’re really doing that, huh?”

“Why not?” Minjun nodded.

“You’re very optimistic, you know that?”

Minjun grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.

“I’ve always been.”

 

 

***

 

 

_Silla Kingdom, 6 th century AD_

 

Fog, humidity, and darkness didn’t scare him as much as an empty stomach. Pulling Skyblue with him, a grown man in his mid-20s slowly descended the steep mountain path towards his village. After all these years, he still couldn’t quite get why the brown cow was called Skyblue, but his eldest son had named the animal like that, and his wife and he had just decided to comply. After all, they were extremely lucky to have this cow.

Being ordinary peasants at the bottom of the bone-ranking system where there was no ranking left at all, they were entitled to pretty much nothing, with the biggest part of their harvest being taken away from them as taxes for the noble every single year. They were lucky enough to be free. And, living further from bigger settlements, they sure could be more relaxed than the people in bigger communities.

Skyblue pushed him further with her nose, and Minjun almost slipped on the steep path.

“Yah, you little,” he turned to look at the animal, and the first thing he saw were her big dark pretty eyes. “Alright,” he smiled scratching her forehead. “Perhaps not so little.”

In the middle of summer, humidity was so dense; one could think the air was wet. Walking felt like going through a very thick and damp curtain. In the words of a very wise man, the air was as thick as thin soup.

Twigs cracked under his feet. The cow seemed to be making a lot less noise while walking along. Bushes were high and thick on both sides of the path, and if he hadn’t known the way by heart, he really would’ve got lost in the middle of the night. The songs of cicadas were so loud, they blurred into a continuous noise. A noise that gave Minjun a tone, and he tried humming to it.

He was already halfway there, when he heard voices and stopped dead in his track. Voices in the middle of the mountain path in the head of the night could only mean strangers. Strangers meant most probably soldiers. Soldiers meant taxes, danger, and famine.

Minjun was too simple of a man to understand what was going on in the Silla kingdom. He didn’t even know the name of the current king, but simple laws of life were easy to follow: In order to survive, one had to stay out of trouble. In order to warn the others about the impending trouble, one had to make sure the trouble was real, as not to blow the whistle prematurely.

Leaving his calm cow tied to the closest bush, Minjun crept forward, led by the wafting sounds of voices. There was an opening in the middle of the path, marking the halfway from the mountain where farmers used to stay for a while to rest during their daily trips up and down the hill. Minjun was sure the strangers were there.

With the light breeze gaining up speed, the clouds dispersed slowly, giving way to the incredibly bright full moon. Minjun shivered despite the general warmth in the air. His superstitious shamanistic nature didn’t like the full moon too much, yet he crept on further, driven by the duty to protect his family and his village at any cost.

Stopping right behind the thickest bush, and the breeze blowing right at him, he could finally see the clearing and he almost gaped.

There were two men there. One was incredibly tall. Minjun himself was already considered a giant in his village, but that man over there, dressed in long high-quality robes was even taller. Part of his black hair was tied at the back of his head, the rest falling on his wide shoulders, his bangs covering his forehead. He was exceptionally well-built and looked almost like a royalty with his sharp eyes, full lips, and defined jaw. Minjun had a great eye-sight and the full moon only helped in noticing the details.

The man in front of the tall one was a lot shorter. A lot.  But he stood straight with his hair long and his robes clean, his posture giving away a kind of aura that said he stood a lot higher on the social ladder than the taller man.

Minjun tried to listen to what they were talking about, but he was dumbfounded to realize he couldn’t understand a word. He was sure it was the Silla language, but he just couldn’t grasp the meaning. As if the language they were using was very old and didn’t exist anymore.

Slightly disappointed that these weren’t the soldiers and that he couldn’t eavesdrop, Minjun turned to go away, but then he heard a few familiar words and he realized that the two men were gradually switching into the common language. He halted.

“What do they call you nowadays, Jihoon-ah?” the shorter man asked with his big beady eyes focused on the tall younger man, obviously admiring him, like a father would admire his son.

“Prince Taejo,” the younger one uttered in a slightly raspy low voice. “They seem to think I am one of the ancestors, but…”

“Well… you do come before the human Taejo of Goguryeo,” the elder pointed out, his big hawk nose moving slightly.

“But my liege,” Prince Taejo or Jihoon bowed. “You are much older. I do not know anyone older than you in our lands. You should come forth and solidify our claims for independent authority of the peninsula. People from the former land of Jin claim that they have elders who exceed us greatly in age and, therefore, it gives them the right to be our sovereign.”

“So, the Jin has fallen…”

“A century ago, my liege…”

“Jihoon-ah,” the elder reached out and patted the Prince on his broad shoulder. “You were a general in your human life; you will know how to deal with this. I have no wish to enter this structure; I am too fond of my nomadic life,” he weighed down his head.

Minjun was enthralled. He couldn’t quite understand what they were talking about, but this seemed like a scene from a fairy-tale, especially with the two men looking almost ethereal, so big and mighty. He grasped tighter at a few brush twigs, ignoring a slight rustle behind his back. He was simply eager to hear some more.

“Don’t you know it’s not polite to eavesdrop?” a lazy voice asked, and Minjun’s heart jumped to his throat.

He didn’t have enough time to look around when a firm hand snatched him at his scruff and pushed him forward with such strength that Minjun thought he was flying for a little while.

He landed right in front two pairs of feet shod in good leather boots. His heart in his throat, Minjun quickly peered at the two men eyeing him surprised, and then he looked down at his hands clawing the ground, realizing the difference in their status. These men seemed very, very noble.

“Found him creeping around in the bushes,” the same lazy voice said, and Minjun dared to sneak a peek to the right. A young-looking man with porcelain skin came a little bit closer. He was of the same height as the eldest of the nobles and he wore a rather smug expression on his face.

“Aren’t you just being hungry, Jaebeom-ah?” the elder asked.

The man called Jaebeom folded his arms across his chest. Unlike the other two, he wasn’t wearing any robes. Just loose pants and a white vest, exposing his well-defined arms to the public.

“Maybe,” he shrugged.

“Please excuse my child,” the elder shook his head.

“There is nothing to excuse, my liege,” Jihoon bowed. “As I understand, our conversation shall be resumed some other time.”

“That would be for the best,” the elder closed his eyes.

Jihoon bowed again. Minjun had no idea what was going on. He felt scared and curious at the same time. He forgot everything about what he was going to do and what he was.

That was until a lonely low reached the clearing. His heart jumped again. Skyblue.

“Oh yeah, he had a cow,” Jaebeom added, and the elder looked closely at Minjun.

“A peasant late on his way back home. Curiosity made him lose his path,” the elder said thoughtfully. Minjun didn’t quite get half of it. He could swear that person had a very weird way of speaking.

Jihoon took a deep sniff of the air and looked around as if making sure of the directions.

“I shall bring the animal back to his household,” he said. “That is the least I can do,” he bowed. “My liege,” a curt nod. “Jaebeom-ah,” and he walked away gracefully, his clothes being the only thing to make a noise.

“Can I have him?” Jaebeom asked gleefully when the Prince was gone.

Have? Minjun was perplexed. In what way?

“Look at me, peasant,” the elder said, and something in his voice made Minjun look up right away.

Despite his rapidly beating heart, his eyes were devoid of fear. Instead, the shining charcoal orbs were full of curiosity and excitement.

“Interesting…” the elder noted.

“What?” Jaebeom walked around to take a closer look at what he had caught there. Minjun couldn’t help but notice that unlike the older man, this Jaebeom was wearing his hair in a top-knot.

“Jaebeom-ah, you’ve been long enough with me,” the elder began. “How about a little brother, who would help you learn everything you should know for the time you have progeny of your own?” he asked.

Jaebeom stared dumbly. And then grinned. He actually looked pretty handsome.

The elder kneeled in front of Minjun, and he was too surprised to back away, when the older man placed his mouth right next to his ear and whispered, sending shivers down his back:

“Do not be scared. I shan’t take long.”

And the next thing Minjun knew was pain. Pain, pain, pain, a smug smiling face of Jaebeom, standing behind the elder, pain, pain, more pain, then suddenly a complete absence of it, and finally. Darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to delete the scene with Taecyeon and the girls in the cafe, but then I realized that it offers a good juxtaposition of the two sides of Taec's character, and then it connects well with the further scene at the hospital. Surprisingly, the younger me sort of knew what she had been doing when she wrote that.
> 
> Thank you so much for the kudos and views! Now I know that I'm not the only one visiting this page :D  
> You are also always welcome to drop me a note in the comment box or visit me on Twitter.
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I'll be back next Friday :)
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Egle0702)


	3. #3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🔷 Wooyoung's teaching Taecyeon how to dance.  
> 🔷 Junho's cramming biochemistry.  
> 🔷 Minjun's getting... married?

_United Kingdom, present day_

 

Bobby looked outside the limousine window. Billions of snowflakes danced to the slightest gust of wind, making it very obvious the northern part of the isles was going through another snowstorm. They were driving down the M8 motorway in the middle of the night through small towns and cities, half of the distance covered already, as the motorway connecting the two major cities was half-empty in the early hours.

The girl would’ve considered the possibility of falling asleep for a little while, but the trip was to take no more than an hour, and they were halfway there already… So, sleeping wasn’t worth it. Plus, she was wearing something ridiculously expensive (provided by Khun, obviously), and she couldn’t risk ruining her black satin mini-dress: she was sure to drool on her shoulder if she fell asleep.

Without her usual boots, long wool socks, and leggings she felt almost naked. Nylon stockings were so not her style, but Chansung had ordered her to dress properly if she wanted to tag along, and she had to obey. Even her dark chocolate hair fell in shiny neat tresses instead of the usual whirlpool of messy curls.

She didn’t really have time to ask where they were going exactly. She had shown up late at the house and just saw everyone in the middle of preparations: Chansung and Minjun dressed in suits, hair styled, eye-liners on their already well-outlined eyes; Junho, Khun, and Taec packing various samples of home-made Yena-produced vampire vitamins (Bobby had no idea what else these things should be called), and even Wooyoung tying ribbons to these huge boxes of, what Bobby thought was, shoes and clothes. She didn’t even realize how she managed to blurt out “can I come?” which was followed by a nonchalant shrug of Minjun’s shoulders and Chansung’s cocked eyebrow. Khun had just made a few phone calls, and soon she was dressed, pampered, and perfumed, and her hair had never looked so pretty before.

So, she was sitting in a limo, two old vampires in front of her, the Khun-provided fur-rimmed coat spread over her almost bare legs. She still had her colourful knitted scarf around her neck, which actually, looked very out of place, but they let her have it until they reach the city. And she still had no idea what was going on.

“Umm…” her eyes darted around as she no longer wanted to watch the snowstorm outside. “Don’t wanna sound stupid or anything, but… where are we going?”

“Glasgow,” Minjun and Chansung answered in synch, each looking out of his own window. Vampires probably could see better through the storm.

“Well, duuuh,” Bobby rolled her eyes. “M8,” she motioned outside. “I’m not THAT stupid. But I mean… what’s the occasion,” she then pointed at their black suits and at the boxes of presents she was barricaded with.

“It almost seems like we’re off to some sacrificial rite or something…” her eyes widened suddenly. “Y-you’re… not gonna sacrifice me to some fang-god, right?” she stammered.

“Bobby,” Minjun closed his eyes, and Bobby already knew that meant he was not fond of her overreacting.

“Then what?” she flailed.

Chansung turned his head right at Minjun, and as the elder didn’t say a word, the younger vampire sighed providing Bobby with the answer:

“Engagement party,” he said quietly. What followed was nothing, but a silent engine thrum of a high-class Rolls-Royce Phantom.

“Vampire engagement party?!” Bobby’s eyes widened even more. “Oh my gosh! Who’s getting married? Is it someone important? Well, judging from all the presents it is, but…” she hushed as Minjun met Chansung’s eye, and then they both stared at her as if she had just said her mama had hatched her out of a golden egg.

Bobby blinked. And gasped.

“OH. MY. GOD. You two are finally tying the knot?!!” she squealed.

Chansung growled bringing his palm to his face and stopping right before he could smudge his eyeliner. He growled even more. He hated make-up. Minjun, on the other hand, discarded his serious demeanour with a snort. He couldn’t help it: laughter escaped his chest before he could think otherwise.

“What hole have you been hiding in?” he giggled unable to sit calmly in his seat. If he had been human, he would’ve been crying with laughter by now. “The whole house has been talking about this for a week or so…”

“So, who’s getting married?!” Bobby flailed frustrated.

“Hyung is!” Chansung raised his voice, which made Bobby freeze for a second.

The early-Joseon vampire rolled his eyes.

“Jesus Christ, seriously…” he blinked and shook his head. “I guess I’m supposed to be a Buddhist… the hell.”

“Minjun-oppa is tying the knot and you’re jealous?” Bobby came back to her usual self pretty fast, pulling a gleeful grin. Chansung sighed.

“I am not.”

“Before you come up with any other assumption,” Minjun began. “We have never been in that kind of relationship, are we clear?”

“Clear,” Bobby nodded. “So… congratulations,” she clapped, her face nothing but sunshine and smiles. “I guess, things like that DO happen in the vampire world after all. Who is she? Is she pretty? Well, of course she is, she’s a vampire,” the girl punched herself in the head. “Duh. Umm… Is she nice? Is she Korean? Or a local…?” she then bit her lip rethinking stuff. “Is it a she?” Bobby asked timidly.

This time it was Chansung’s turn to snort. He curled into a ball, snatching at his belly and laughing out loud. Minjun had to wait for him to calm down.

“Yes, it is a she,” he said looking directly at Bobby. “She is one of the oldest and most important vampires in this area; she is pretty, I hope she is nice enough, and no, she is not Korean. As far as I’ve heard, she’s not from here either, but she has settled here a millennium ago.”

“How old is she?” Bobby gaped.

“One thousand one hundred… something,” Minjun mused.

Bobby’s eyes bulged.

“And, forgive me for asking, but… how old are you then?”

“With all different calendars adjusted… One thousand four hundred thirty…ish.”

“That’s freakin’ old!!” Bobby gasped bringing her hands to her mouth. She then stared at Chansung. “You’re also that old?”

“Nah,” he waved his hand, shaking his head with a lenient smile on his face. “I’m only five hundred sixty something…”

“Only…” Bobby choked, and then remembered something. “Wait… you said you hope she’s nice? What… you don’t know?” she narrowed her eyes.

Minjun shrugged.

“I’ve only met her once or twice before… we didn’t talk that much…”

Bobby’s jaw dropped.

“WHAT?! Don’t you guys get the concept of dating before marriage?!” she flipped. “Or like getting to know each other better? What the heck? Don’t tell me it’s an arranged marriage. Are you crazy? What about love? What?! Don’t tell me it doesn’t exist for you guys!”

Minjun and Chansung stared at her blinking slowly, both quite amused by her sudden outburst.

“Love is for mating,” Chansung said.

“Yes. Marriage for a vampire is either an economic or a political union. With love it is different,” Minjun shrugged. “You do not need to get married to mate.”

“BUT OF COURSE, YOU DO!!” Bobby wanted to roll down onto the limo floor and start kicking around at the stupidity of these two. “My parents fell in love and THEN got married; my mom is STILL crazy about my dad… well, that means she basically ignores me most of the time, but…”

“That’s the point,” Chansung cut in.

“Huh?” Bobby blinked.

“Vampire love is that strong,” he explained. “And it is also equally rare because if you find yourself a mate, your connection gets so intense, it is impossible for either of you to turn anyone. Because you two get so obsessed with one another, you can’t look after your progeny properly. You don’t actually go insane, but you can’t divide your love between your mate and your offspring. That’s why it’s rare.”

“It’s far more common to have a progeny or two and get married than to live for centuries with just your mate by your side without turning anyone,” Minjun added.

“Okay, but that’s between vampires,” she mumbled. “What if it’s a human and a vampire? Isn’t it logical for a vampire to turn the person they love? If the obsession is so strong?”

“That…” Chansung sighed. “Basically, never happens. The turning, I mean.”

“Why?” Bobby was perplexed. “If you love someone so much you can’t live without them… how can you let them go and let them die when you continue to live on?”

“Because love is not about being selfish,” Minjun stared at her with his charcoal orbs. “I do not know exactly what you think of us, but a vampire could never condemn his loved one for such a life.”

“But…”

“You cannot have children,” he continued staring right through her. “You are bound to the perpetual life in twilight, you feed off others, you are chained to certain rules and certain responsibilities, some of which humans could never think of; you are ripped out of your human family, and you can never know what have become of your children if happened to have any in your human life…” he hushed and Chansung, noticing a special glint in his senior’s eyes, took over.

“Sure, if it’s just you, the advantages of being turned might outweigh the losses, but wishing for this kind of life for your loved one… even a vampire wouldn’t be that selfish.”

Bobby hushed and looked down at her lap. That sure didn’t sound too nice, but she still couldn’t discard the thought that being a vampire was an exciting thing. So what if it meant draining a person or two from time to time? These days, one could easily access a blood bank or something. But she didn’t dare to probe deeper as both vampires seemed to be rather touchy about it, so she went back to the initial topic.

“So… why are you marrying this old lady again?” she asked.

That earned her a warm smile from the older vampire.

“It gives her access to my area resources, and allows me to tap into her supplies and her land if need be. It is mutually beneficial. And it solves the Yena problem.”

“What about Yena?” Bobby frowned slightly puzzled.

“She doesn’t acknowledge it, but she’s one of the best self-taught vampire biochemists in the northern hemisphere,” Minjun explained. “She’s very valuable, and since I’ve met her first, in the vampire law – finders, keepers. So, she’s under my custody even though some locals are against it. Now, as I’m marrying this influential lady, those with pretensions to Yena should be finally off my back.”

“You make it sound like Yena’s a commodity,” Bobby gaped.

 “For vampires, she is,” Chansung said, his tone icy and hostile. “But she only works with us because she wants to. The others wouldn’t be able to make her. She would sooner starve herself to death than do something she hates.”

“So, in a way, you’re also doing this engagement thing to protect her,” Bobby pointed out.

“Yes,” Minjun nodded. “Also, it is fully approved by Jihoon-hyung, so we are free to go.”

“Jihoon-hyung?” Bobby perked up at the new name. “Who’s that?”

“Our sovereign,” Chansung looked outside the window. “Prince Taejo.”

“Ruler of Korean vampires?” Bobby snorted.

“Yes,” Minjun nodded, and Bobby immediately sobered up. “He is very old and very powerful. He was there when I was turned. He presides over vampires in South and North Korea, parts of China and Russia,” he smiled. “Our borders are slightly different.”

“We’re here,” Chan announced before Bobby could even respond to the new bits of information she was fed with.

Indeed, she didn’t even notice that the car had stopped already. The girl was quick to discard her colourful scarf and get into the warm coat as Chansung opened the door, taking all the big present boxes with him. She was left with just one square box full of weird biologic samples.

Minjun, as expected of the groom, had only one small box with a ribbon on top in his hand. Bobby guessed that was the ring. Although she wasn’t sure if vampires used rings. For all she knew, that could’ve been a vial with a very rare type of blood.

Her jaw dropped the moment she got out of the car. It was a castle. Well, OK, not an actual fairy-tale castle, but a very old, stony manor-like house surrounded with a huge yard and a park, with a long alley of lime-trees serving as a drive-way.

She looked around, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets. The house had three stories, all of which were illuminated now, light coming from all the windows. The drive-in, where their limo stood now, was cleaned off snow, and Bobby thanked heavens the snowstorm was over by now.

Everything was illuminated. Even the majestic stone stairs that led up to the main entrance of the house. And there were people standing at the top of the stairs. Bobby was sure some of them were definitely vampires. Especially the lady up front dressed in a long light blue gown, with an intricate pattern of fabric folds falling on her chest and a white-fur rimmed hood on her head.

Just when the early-hour December frost was beginning to bite at Bobby’s nose, the lady in blue started descending down the stairs with two stout vampires dressed in kilts and jackets instantly following after her.

Bobby had a feeling that was her. From what she could see, the female vampire had strength in her body. From the way she moved, Bobby could tell she wasn’t built for sowing and knitting. She was not incredibly tall, but she was definitely taller than the midget that Bobby was, which led the girl to conclude that, if the lady was really over a thousand years old, at the time she was turned she was probably considered a giant.

The female went all the way down and stood on the same ground level as Minjun, Chansung, and Bobby, before she took off her hood. What Bobby saw first was jaw-length ash blonde hair and baby-blue eyes. She wondered where this vampire was originally from.

The lady looked down at her first, then she eyed Chansung, and then looked up at Minjun, pulling a soft smile.

“Welcome to our humble home,” her British accent was perfect.

Bobby cursed herself for believing the lady would have a distinct accent she could pinpoint. A thousand years is more than enough to master pronunciation perfectly.

“My lady,” Minjun bowed. Chansung followed, also pushing Bobby into a 90-degree bow with his free hand. “We are honoured to be welcomed by the master of the house herself.”

“Oh please,” she smiled again. Bobby couldn’t help but notice she had a soothingly low feminine voice. “I’m pretty sure we can manage with a lower register from now on, Minjun,” she turned left indicating the way up the stairs with her left arm. “Call me Amber.”

 

 

***

 

 

His hands weren’t shaking, but he didn’t quite know what kind of concoction he was making, so deep down he was rather nervous. Yena was filling up Excel tables on her notebook at the end of the kitchen table, so Junho was on his own.

He gulped and dipped a small pipette into one of the solutions arranged in glass containers in front of him, and then he carried it slowly to the test-tube in his right hand, full of concentrated vampire blood. He kept his eyes on the blood, trying not to spill the few drops of the solution he had in the pipette.

It was close to morning. He sometimes wondered how Yena could go on this much without sleep. She seemed to be enthralled by what she did, and he could still hear her type vigorously and click her mouse away, even though his entire visual attention was on his hands.

The house was empty. They were entirely on their own. Save for the cat of course, who was playing somewhere upstairs. It was his active time now. Junho, on the other hand, was so focused he had even forgotten he was hungry.

He squeezed the end of the pipette lightly, and one single drop of silvery liquid fell into the test-tube. What he didn’t except though was a sudden flash and the whole concoction boiling up all of a sudden.

“Holy crap!” he pulled the test-tube away, holding it at a full arm’s length. He watched the blood bubble like boiling water, pink foam climbing over the rim of the tube. “The hell was that?”

Yena leaned left to see what was going on, not even bothering to come over and check everything up close. She narrowed her eyes.

“What did you put in?” she asked.

“Sample no. 3, just like you said,” he carefully put the tube into the tube holder and went to wash his hands just in case.

He didn’t really need to use gloves for these experiments because vampire skin was tough enough to withstand various miscalculations on the scientist’s part, but you could never be too careful.

“I said sample number 4,” Yena rolled her eyes. “ _SAM_ – THREE. _SA_ – FOUR,” she stressed. “You know, I’m gonna use English next time, geez. And I thought using Korean would be easier,” she shook her head.

“Was it a huge mistake?” he asked.

“Not really,” she shrugged. “But now you know that Khun is allergic to magnesium. In room temperature, the element reaction to his blood is almost the same as with water. KABOOM.”

“That was Khun-hyung’s blood?” Junho gasped staring at the boiled concoction in the test-tube that was now hot-pink in colour.

“Yeah, he donates willingly,” Yena clicked her mouse wildly. “God dammit, I can’t seem to make this table work… TAEC!!”

“Hyung’s not home,” Junho took another test-tube, ready to repeat the experiment all-over. He hated being forced to do things, but he was a diligent student. “Wooyoung took him out to the warehouse.”

“Huh? What the hell for?”

Just when she needed him the most, the annoying vampire geek was not there. Figures.

“Dance lessons,” Junho shrugged, hoping to get things right this time. “Taec-hyung lectures Wooyoung on the vampire law, so Wooyoung promised to teach him dance in return.”

 Yena’s face convulsed with something she couldn’t quite understand.

“Taec’s venturing into dance practice now?” she shook her head. “Scratch that. That zombie kid knows how to dance?”

“Wooyoung’s really good,” Junho’s voice burned with something that seemed to be long forgotten. “We both are… were…” he stuttered. “Dance… that’s… why we ended up being where we were… and yeah… here I am now.”

The expression on Yena’s face softened, and her voice wasn’t as stern anymore.

“You know you can still dance, no one’s forbidding you to enjoy that…”

“With all the shit you’re making me memorize?” Junho flared up suddenly, his eyes wide open. “Not in this decade…”

Yena’s wireless mouse flew at him, and he caught it in reflex action before it could hit his face. She knew he’d catch that.

“Language!” she pursed her lips.

 

 

***

 

 

He was at the top floor. Most of the rooms that had originally been there had had their walls torn down, and more than half of the floor made up one huge room with five or six windows. Although Minjun couldn’t find any traces of the old walls, so he figured everything could’ve also been built like that from the start, under the orders of the master of the house. The manor was obviously less than a thousand years old. Minjun guessed it dated back to the 15th century or something.

The floor was draped with soft carpets and he was glad he had taken off his shoes, leaving them on the ground floor before entering the master’s quarters. The western part of the room resembled a museum with old armchairs and a sofa, and a huge cupboard set against the wall to display artefacts and possessions one could only collect over several centuries.

Minjun saw a variety of goblets, a Viking crown, medallions, and least three different editions of the Bible in different languages. Next to the possession display was a huge bookshelf stuffed with volumes of human and vampire classics from the floor right up to the ceiling. Chansung surely would’ve loved this.

Minjun somewhat regretted he had left him and Bobby downstairs with all the unfamiliar vampires. On the other hand, Chansung would’ve never come along and Bobby was so perky and inquisitive that most probably, she was the one to leave the vampires perplexed, not the other way around.

He slowly moved across the room, and the East wing was absolutely different: The walls were decorated with highly artistic photographs ranging from the times the daguerreotype was just invented to the present days. The furniture was sleek and modern with bright and expressive colours.

He could see a high-class stereo, a writing desk with a computer, a flat-screen TV, a wall-wide case full of various media collectibles such as LPs, tape cassettes, CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays; there was also a wide bed at the very end of the room and a door, which, Minjun guessed, led to a king-sized closet.

She was standing in front of her desk, looking at the wrapped gift boxes that had been carried over to her room and stacked one on top of the other on her comfy blue sofa.

“Do you mind if I open them now?” she asked in her low voice, obviously biting her lips with the greed to see what was inside.

“Of course not, go ahead,” Minjun nodded coming closer, feeling slightly anxious because she didn’t seem to be what he had been expecting, and his presents might’ve been completely off.

Amber smiled and snatched the first box from the top, ripping the blue ribbon off and opening it immediately. She gasped. Minjun tensed.

The female vampire took a glance at him and then slowly pulled a purple Nike trainer with blue-green stripes across it out of the box. The way she eyed the shoe with almost a teenage-like affection made Minjun realize he did not fail on that one.

“Such pretty shoes,” she looked at him and then rubbed her cheek into the trainer. “And brand new…”

“I am glad you are satisfied,” Minjun smiled with his hands behind his back. “Seeing you like this today, I was afraid my research might have been all in vain.”

“Oh I… was just told I should look presentable for once,” she laughed and gave Minjun a foxy eye. “Am I to understand that the contents of other boxes are similar to the one I have just opened?”

“Pretty much so,” Minjun nodded smiling, his eyes shrinking into adorable crescents.

“You. Are. A. Saint!” Amber grinned, grabbing all the boxes and shuttling towards the door at the end of the room. “Be right back!” she promised opening the door and disappearing behind it.

Minjun was right: it was a dressing room. And while the lady was busy rearranging her wardrobe, he examined the photographs on the wall. They were really good. Mostly black and white, some in sepia shades. Just a few of them portrayed people or vampires. Most of them captured nature, cities, and details of different cultures throughout the flow of time. Minjun couldn’t shake off the feeling everything had been done through the lens of the same person.

“I hope you don’t mind if I make myself comfortable,” he heard her say. “You look very nice and all, but I really feel more like myself this way,” he turned to see her come over now dressed in jeans and a dark cherry hoodie hugging her strong yet feminine physique.

Minjun suddenly recalled their previous meetings and he had to agree: she did look more like herself this way. For a millennium old lady, she was quite a tomboy.

Amber came to stand next to him, holding a wrapped rectangular box in her hands. It was the size of a prime cigar set, but Minjun hoped that was the only similarity.

“This is for your Yena,” she said giving the box to Minjun. “I was visiting my old lands not too long ago, and this is what I came across in their supermarkets,” she smirked as he took it. “Humans come up with the most bizarre things really. I think she will find it useful.”

“Thank you, I appreciate your concern,” Minjun gave her a curt nod even though he had no idea what was inside the box.

Amber hid her hands in her jumper pockets and Minjun, sensing the oncoming imminent awkward silence, focused on the photos again.

“These are really good. Are they yours?”

“Ah yes,” Amber’s face brightened up scanning over her collection. “I have a hobby or two.”

“You have a good eye,” he commended. “And most of them are taken outside of the Isles… Where are you from really?” he asked.

Being a true Korean at heart (however dead it might be), he cared about the background of the people around him. Mostly because deep down inside he still carried the old prejudice of the Silla bone-ranking system, when he had been somewhere at the bottom of the food chain. Despite his age and experience, he sometimes felt inferior to those around him even in his own coven. After all, Chansung was a yangban by birth, Khun was a prince, Taecyeon was an educated middle-class public servant, and their two babies probably have seen a cow only in a zoo.

“Oh… I am from the east coast of the Baltics,” she looked thoughtful, eyes focused on the photographs. “I got turned by a Viking when a batch attacked my village and after that, my master brought me to Northumbria… which was ruled by the Norsemen at the time…” she turned to Minjun. “And so, I stayed.”

“What were you in your human life?” Minjun met her eyes. They were a stark contrast to his charcoal ones.

 “What was I?” Amber chuckled. “Oh… I don’t know? A cowgirl? I used to look after our family’s cattle. Not a lot of things to do for a girl in a medieval village in the middle of nowhere. There’s also marriage of course, but the Viking got me first,” she laughed.

Minjun felt relieved. Despite the fact that they were very different, she was basically as old as him, and as far as their human origins went, they stood on equal grounds. Minjun knew he was simply being paranoid, but he couldn’t cut out completely what he was or where he came from.

“I am from Silla,” he shared. “6th century. I was a peasant.” 

“Oh, so you’re some three hundred years older than me,” she grinned. “Can I call you oppa?”

“Eh?” Minjun blinked unable to hide his surprise.

“What?” she swayed back and forth. “I googled. Figured I should do some research if I’m marrying a Korean.  _Yeobo_ sounds a bit too conservative to me, to tell you the truth.”

“You know, we’re not married yet,” Minjun chuckled.

“I know,” she sighed nodding and walking away from him. She eventually settled into one of her bright-coloured armchairs. “We still need to see if the union is mutually beneficial and all that bureaucratic crap,” she waved her hand around her head, obviously indicating she was not fond of vampire politics. “But just so you know, I’m a no-shit lady,” her baby-blues bore right through him. “So, if this arrangement pulls through in the end, I expect you to fulfil all of your conjugal duties.”

“Meaning?” Minjun angled his head. Amber pointed her thumb at her wide bed behind her back.

“I’m not going to tolerate lonely nights all year round with an official husband at hand,” she cocked an eyebrow. “Call me old-fashioned, but a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”

“That is…” Minjun slowly walked around the sofa to sit in front of her. “A rather human way to look at things.”

“Then I still have more human in me than I’ve initially thought,” she folded her arms across her chest. Minjun had to notice that the loose hoodie, regrettably, concealed whatever she had there. “What, you find me repulsive?”

“No,” Minjun shook his head sitting down and locking his long fingers together. “I find you interesting. I don’t think I’ve met a Baltic vampire before.”

Amber leaned forward putting her chin on her hand and looked at him intently.

“And I’ve never had a Korean,” she pulled a wry smirk. “So, we’re even.”

Minjun grinned. He was sure that if he had researched even more it might’ve turned out that they both shared the same Zodiac sign or something. Two millennium-old vampires at the edge of boredom seemed to have found something to play with for at least a few more hundred years. As long as it was interesting.

He pulled out the last box from his pocket and opened it. Amber laughed.

“A ring?” she slapped her forehead, and then reached out nevertheless. “How unconventional of you.”

Minjun smiled.

“I must still have more human in me than I have initially thought.”

 

 

***

 

 

He once heard someone say that genius was just one step away from insanity. He was beginning to believe that was true. Very much so. He couldn’t think of any other explanation otherwise.

No one could’ve proved him that a sane person with an incredibly high IQ would come up with something like this while being absolutely sober. Hitting the floor at the speed of 90 miles per hour and leaving another dent on a bare concrete, Wooyoung was finally convinced: Ok Taecyeon was insane.

Yet, he still got up from the floor and continued with this stupid act because his natural resilience, patience, and inexhaustible stamina pushed him to go forward and don’t give up. Ever since his childhood, people were often surprised at how agreeable and not picky the little Wooyoung was. What they didn’t know though, was that little Wooyoung wasn’t as agreeable as they might have thought. True to his Taurean nature, he was just really, really patient. It took him ages to run out of it, but once something drove him over the top… Well, no one would want to run into a raging bull in a narrow alley, right?

They were outside of the city, in a half-empty well-illuminated warehouse that was used as a logistics centre by Khun’s company to store and rearrange their goods. Since the size of it was pretty much close to a football stadium, they thought they should be fine even with Taec’s tendency to overreact when it came to physical activities.

Wooyoung was a little bit irked by the fact that Khun also stayed with them, sitting leaned against the wall, watching every single move with his beady chocolate eyes, but on the other hand, that was his warehouse, and he had grounds for doubt. At the end of the day, Taec was their demolition man, so it was logical for someone to stay behind and watch.

What was more, with a few phone calls (as usual) Khun had provided them with huge mirrors against one of the walls, almost turning the warehouse into a spacious dance studio, so Wooyoung decided to shut up and simply appreciate the effort.

As far as Taec’s efforts went, however, the baby vampire was not so sure. For one, this hyung was very eager to learn. Two, he had a sense of rhythm and a rather decent ear for music. He could even feel the subtle changes in song arrangement. What he didn’t feel though, was his own body. The part starting from his knees and upwards, right up to his meaty neck was something that Wooyoung could compare to a stiff pole. And it wouldn’t have been so bad if that stiff pole didn’t release enough energy to power a mini nuclear plant.

That energy was what was sending Wooyoung flying to the left and to the right because, instead of learning some basic dance moves or simply how to feel one’s body, Taec had this great idea where he wanted to copy some kind of strange acrobatic move, he saw on YouTube the other day. “Our height difference is just perfect~!” he had said then, giving Wooyoung a toothy grin. 

The kid had answered him with a very dubious look, but a hyung was a hyung, and he agreed to do it. He believed that with enough practice anyone could learn to dance, and he could see some hope even in Taec. But not so fast, and not with a move this complicated.

Wooyoung didn’t really know why he ended up agreeing with Taec’s suggestions. It led to them doing this half-assed crazy tango stunt move, in which he had to play the female part, i.e. he was the one being thrown around. And it was not only that Taec would drop him or lose a hold of him. Wooyoung could take one fall after another, especially now in his vampire state. But he hated that Khun had to witness all that.

The blonde vampire sitting at the back of the wide room had already lost count how many times he saw Wooyoung’s long legs swing around in the air. He had to agree though that dressed in simple black sweatpants with white stripes on each side the kid’s legs did seem long. Almost as long as Taec’s. Khun folded his arms across his chest and frowned.

Long legs meant that as a vampire, Wooyoung was either good at running or jumping, which automatically made him a good predator. Everyone would always tell Khun what long legs he himself had, so he figured having long legs was part of being a natural. But he had a feeling there was a certain difference between him and Wooyoung in that area, although he couldn’t quite pinpoint it yet.

Trimming his white t-shirt and turning his blue baseball cap around so that its brim would face his back, Wooyoung once again gripped Taec’s shoulder with his left hand, actually feeling glad vampires didn’t sweat. Otherwise, they both would be reeking real bad right now.

The plan was as follows: Taec was supposed to grab him at his waist and his momentum should have carried him up to Taec’s right shoulder, his whole body turning counter-clockwise. Then, while doing the second turn, he would go behind Taec’s back, snatching on his right shoulder, his legs following, and with him still clutching onto Taec, his legs would emerge from beneath Taec’s right arm, forming something akin to the letter “L” with Taec still holding him. His left hand on Wooyoung’s left thigh, and his right hand on Wooyoung’s waist.

That was the plan. It sounded very clumsy, but it was supposed to be done fast, and no matter how many times they tried, Taec would either push him too hard sending him flying over his shoulders, or Wooyoung wouldn’t be fast enough to snatch onto his hyung, because of the certain someone (once again) exerting too much power.

“Alright,” he said giving Taec the eye through his dark bangs. “Here we go again…” he prepared to jump. “One, two, three~!!”

He jumped; he spun, Taec pushed him on time, feet shod in Adidas trainers flashed in the air, he grabbed onto Taec’s shoulder on time, his legs came just where they were supposed to, and it was almost perfect, but Taec miscalculated and…

“A-tta!!” Wooyoung yelped letting go of Taec and landing on his butt right in front him.

“Again, and again, and again, and again…” mumbled Khun unfolding his legs and closing his eyes, he was sure he was up for a very long night.

“Watch where you’re touching!” Wooyoung got up to his feet rubbing his backside, his face puckered into a whining expression. “Vampires can’t have children and all, but these are still functioning tools of trade, OK?! I need them!”

“What did you do today, any highlights you’d like to share?” Khun uttered in a fake acting voice from his corner. “Oh, nothing much, just Taec groping my balls, ha ha ha.”

Wooyoung’s face went blank in a split second. He obviously heard that.

“If I kicked him,” he pointed his thumb backwards while looking Taec in the eye. “Would he kick me back?”

“Yeah,” Taec nodded. “Don’t mind him; he’s always like that when he’s hungry. Plus, he’s a hyung. Gotta excuse him for what he is.”

“You don’t seem to call him hyung, though,” Wooyoung noticed, crossing his arms and cocking his eyebrow.

“Long story,” Taec shrugged it off. “Look, sorry about that. Come on, let’s try this again, it’s really fun.”

“Yes, fun, when it’s not you being thrown around,” Wooyoung scoffed. “Hyung,” he unfolded his arms gesticulating wildly. “I offered a dance lesson, not acrobatics. There’s a difference. A lecture on Prince Taejo’s administration is not worth it! I thought we would be dancing, not role-playing Dragonball… or something.”

Taec stared at him, and Wooyoung had known him long enough to realize he shouldn’t have said what he just did. Geek minds were quick to catch new stupid ideas very fast.

“Hey!” Taec grinned suddenly. “That’s a great idea. You can fly! I can, too! Quite decently! We can try cosplaying Dragonball Z at the next anime con, or like… next Halloween! I can be Goku, you can be Gohan!”

Wooyoung could feel his right eye twitching. He could see why this guy’s been the maknae for such a long time.

“Gohan?” Khun answered from his corner. “More like Vegeta,” he scoffed.

“Hey!” Wooyoung turned to him feeling slightly vexed. If his patience were a vessel, it would’ve been 95% full by now. “Vegeta’s freakin’ 160 cm tall! I’m 178! BAREFOOT!”

“OK, OK,” Taec put his hands onto Wooyoung’s shoulders and turned the boy back to face him, calming him down with his soothing low voice. “You can be Gohan,” he patted him on the head. “Your height’s just right, and your legs are just perfect for that.”

“What?” if Wooyoung didn’t know better, he would’ve sworn he had a distinct headache forming in his left temple.

“Your legs are just how Toriyama drew them,” and before Wooyoung knew it, Taec knelt down and pulled his right pant leg up, right to the middle of his thigh. Damned loose sweats, was all Wooyoung could think.

Khun’s eyes widened slightly. Okay, so that was the difference. And it took him lots of effort to stop himself from sulking.

“This,” Taec pointed his long finger at two distinct muscle lines above Wooyoung’s knee. “Just like in the manga. Where did you get that, though? It’s not something you get after being turned. Vampire muscles develop in a bit different way.”

“I used to play football in high school, OK?” Wooyoung freed his leg from Taec’s grasp and pulled down his pant-leg.

“Oh, that explains things,” Taec nodded. “So yeah, cosplay. With legs like these, you can play Gohan in spandex.”

 

…

 

97%.

 

“No way, hyung. I would rather drink from any of you than wear spandex,” Wooyoung seethed through his clenched teeth. “Let’s get back to business.”

Once again, they stood in front of the mirrors, ready to try that silly acrobatic tango stunt, and Wooyoung thought that it had to work now. They were almost perfect before that, save for Taec’s grabby hands, but it was close to 5 a.m. already, and no one knew how long Khun could keep the workers away from the warehouse.

“Alright,” Wooyoung huffed, grabbing a hold of Taec’s shoulder once again. “One, two, three, GO~!!”

He jumped, he spun, Taec pushed. Pushed a tad too hard, and Wooyoung was sent flying to the opposite wall at 85 mph.

 

98…

 

99…

 

100%.

 

However, instead of crashing into it, Wooyoung froze mid-air, finally using his ability to fly to save himself from another painful landing. He slowly descended down on the floor, his fists clenched and his eyes seething with silent and cold fury. That was it. He was so through with this nerd. If he wanted to dance, he would have to do it properly, starting from the basics.

Wooyoung pointed his forefinger at Taec, who seemed a little bit frightened.

“Don’t. Move,” he ordered tramping towards Khun, where all of their stuff lay in a neat heap, and once Wooyoung reached it, he dug down into it in search for his jacket.

“Doesn’t seem to work too well, does it?” Khun asked following his every move.

“Well,” Wooyoung shrugged, finally shoving his hand into his jacket’s pocket and pulling out his phone. “At least he has an ear for music,” he said giving the elder a meaningful stare.

Khun narrowed his eyes.

“Are you saying I’m tone-deaf?”

“Are you implying that _I_ am deaf?” Wooyoung emphasized while browsing through his music collection.

“Your point being?” Khun cocked his eyebrow.

“Let me refresh your memory and remind you that my room is the one next to the attic bathroom,” Wooyoung finally found the song he needed and focused entirely on Khun. “Just so you know, you’re very loud when you use the shower. And completely off-key.”

And with that, he went away towards Taec, leaving Khun blinking in astonishment, unable to come up with any decent reply on the spot. The only thing the Thai prince could think of was how he wished to break that baby’s neck and drain him dry.

“OK, hyung!” Wooyoung was back with Taec, giving his hyung the yellow mobile phone. “If we’re gonna teach you some stuff about dancing, we’re gonna do it properly. And first, you’re gonna get the feeling of how your body moves, and what you can do with it. What skills you possess, OK?”

“OK,” Taec nodded.

He could agree that the tango stunt could wait. He didn’t want to piss off his dance teacher. So, what if he was a century younger or so? With Yena putting Junho through gruesome training in biochemistry, Wooyoung was the only one skilled enough in dancing to provide him with at least a tiny piece of proper knowledge.

“OK,” Wooyoung nodded back. “So, at first we’re gonna see how you naturally move to the music,” he tapped _play_ leaving the phone in Taec’s hands. “You just hear the song and go in whatever way you prefer… like this.”

What Taec heard coming from Wooyoung’s phone was some random bouncy R’n’B song. To think of it, he was sure the girl singing was Beyoncé. But even before the song gained momentum, Wooyoung was already moving to the rhythm. First his shoulders, then his torso. One, two, one, two, sway left, sway right, wave left, wave right, and then off it went, and all Taec (and Khun) could do was stare.

It seemed like every single bone in Wooyoung’s body moved on its own. His shoulders moved to the right, but his upper body stayed in the same position. His legs bent and knees turned left, but his upper body moved elsewhere.

He did waves so fast and detailed it seemed his ribs had five separate joints each. It was hard to believe this zombie kid, who was constantly starving himself and surviving on anything edible, was that flexible. His waist and hips seemed to have a separate mind of their own. His legs moved right, his upper body and arms turned left, and at the same time his hips jerked up and down, all around and sideways. And everything was perfectly in sync with the rhythm of the song. He was like a snake on four legs out in town to party.

He stopped the second minute into the song turning back to Taec, who was watching everything with an awed expression on his face.

“Your turn,” Wooyoung said taking his phone back and pushing Taec towards the mirrors. “Whichever way you prefer,” he scrolled through his playlist again, searching for a slightly easier song. “OK, go,” a rhythm of some Ne-Yo song filled the warehouse.

Wooyoung was glad Taec was too concentrated to notice him checking and assessing his every single move. Ok Taecyeon was raw. Very, very raw. But Wooyoung did believe that with lots of practice something could be done about it.

He was also glad Taec was too focused on dancing to notice Khun creep from behind. The blonde stood next to Wooyoung, watching the vampire he’d basically nurtured since his babyhood dance to some American R’n’B song.

“How old are you?” Khun asked keeping his eyes on Taec.

“I’m twenty-one,” Wooyoung blurted out without a second thought, although technically if he were to go by his vampire age, he was merely 6 months old.

“Good hips,” Khun pointed out, and Wooyoung stared unable to get where this conversation was going to. Good? The word was positive, but too general, and he wasn’t sure if the elder was mocking him or…

“I beg your pardon?” he narrowed his eyes. Khun pulled his angelic smile.

“I’m saying that skills like that come only after lots of practice.”

“I did practice,” Wooyoung’s brow knotted in a frown. “I’ve been dancing for years.”

“I’m not talking about dancing,” Khun shook his head, chuckling quietly at this baby’s naivety.

Wooyoung stared. Then his hibernating metabolism spiked up and he flushed indignantly, clenching his fists and turning the music off in process. Taec stopped trying and turned around surprised to see what was going on behind his back.

“I’m not sure which gutter you’ve dumped your head at,” Wooyoung began through his clenched teeth. “But I’m not a sex monster, OK?”

“Hips don’t lie,” Khun wiggled his eyebrows.

Wooyoung pursed his lips.

“Yeah well, maybe I’m a natural at many things,” he spat out in the elder’s face and glanced at Taec with: “Alright, let’s try this again, I see where we can improve things,” leaving Khun virtually dumbstruck for the first time in a hundred years.

 

 

***

 

 

Standing in front of a human-sized mirror, he took off his shirt and pursed his lips trying to concentrate. Staring at his own defined pectorals and abs, Taec tried to feel every fibre of his body, feel everything to the point he could make the top right chocolate block flex and move on its own.

He was sure he could tell exactly where his spine was though. There was this stiff pole stuck vertically right through the middle of his body. The pole that didn’t seem to have any vertebrae whatsoever.

Recalling everything he had seen and been taught the night before, Taec ordered his brain to move his body. He could see it in his mind: his chest puffing up and moving upwards with his back and his waist bending inwards at the same time, and then following his chest up in the same wavy pattern. That was how he imagined it. In reality, he just took an awkward step forward.

Taec blinked. He tried again. The Taec-wave turned out to be a lurching bow. He frowned and tried again. All he could see was a chest pump. Taec gaped staring at the mirror. And he suddenly lost it.

“Oh, come on!” he roared throwing his shirt away, overreacting and angry with his own reflection in the mirror, standing half-naked in his room.

“How hard can this be?!” pointing at the mirror he bared his fangs at himself. “You just go and UGH!” he growled thrusting his chin forward, his chest rising up, his spine bending inwards, and then his waist and hips following along. He flexed out so much he could actually hear some his vertebrae pop. Pretty disappointing and amusing at the same time for a vampire.

The beastly expression disappeared from his face immediately. He blinked. That was as far from the things Wooyoung could do as the difference between a goose and an eagle. But just like the goose and the eagle both were birds; the thing he’d just done was a wave. A half-assed and ridiculously clumsy, but still, a wave.

Taec gaped, his body gradually crouching into a position of a flailing fangirl, with his knees turning inwards and his elbows glued to his ribcage. He covered his mouth with his hands, his deep-set shiny eyes widening in astonishment and sparkling with achievement.

“Oh my God,” he squeaked, his fingers digging deep into his cheeks. “I did it!” he stomped his feet into the carpet. “I did it!” he threw his arms up in his own little eureka moment. “Yeah! Ok Taecyeon! That’s how we do it! You go, beast! Woohoo!” he jumped up and down and ran out of his room unable to contain his excitement.

“I did it!” he ran down the stairs jumping down two or four steps at a time. “I did it!” he zoomed across the hall and the living room, heading to the kitchen. “I di—wa--!”

“Watch out!” was the next thing he heard, right after he saw a flash of long golden hair.

He was a fool for various reasons:

  * he should not have been running around the house with his head off because the house was not 100% vampire-proof;
  * he was too immersed in his little euphoria to tune into the environment around him; with one thing completely occupying his mind, he could not read his surroundings;
  * it’s been more than a hundred years but he still couldn’t control his heart well.



Taec found himself hovering some two feet above the floor face down. His chin was touching something silky and he was quick to realize that was Yena’s hair and her head. Well, obviously, because she was clinging to him, trying not to hit the ground. Some of her hair was almost reaching the floor. Then it dawned upon him that he was holding her pressed close to himself, his arms locked tight around her upper body.

Taec blinked and slowly began to turn around his axis mid-air, so that she wouldn’t need to hold onto him as if he were the last line between her and her (human) life. He was not as good at gliding and flying as Khun, Minjun, or Wooyoung, but being a 100% nerd at heart, over the years, he had forced himself into acquiring a rather decent flying technique.

After five seconds, he was still hovering a good foot above the ground, but with him face up, staring stubbornly at the white ceiling, and Yena lying on top of him. Her long hair spread across his chest.

“Hello?” he asked tentatively.

His chest vibrated with his low voice sending Yena into a full-scaled shiver spazz. Her nails dug into his ribs. That didn’t hurt much although Taec could obviously feel it. He was almost painfully aware of her taking deep breaths and exhaling warm puffs of air right against his skin.

“Why…” she looked up slowly, raising her head from his chest, her dark faded grey eyes meeting his dark brown orbs. Her face was set with uneven purple blotches. “Why do you smell like kimchi and funeral tea?”

Taec blinked. He snorted and lost focus. And they both crashed onto the floor. Yena hissed.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Taec began, helping her get up on both feet. “Please excuse us for the rough landing.”

“You should really watch where you’re going,” Yena stood up rubbing her head.

She wasn’t hurt, but with the sudden jolt as they’d hit the floor, it felt like her brain turned into a mush.

“What if I carry a syringe with some anti-vampire substance the next time you crash into me… GET DOWN RIGHT NOW!!” she abruptly cut off and yelled finally noticing that Bruno, startled by the commotion, had dragged his black furry butt on the very of top of the kitchen door.

“Meow?” he said watching intently his human and the vampire.

“Bruno, get down!” Yena ordered. “Or I’ll cut your whiskers; there are still many things left to cut off! Ha! Get down!”

Bruno gurgled. It sounded more like something a goat would say rather than a cat. After a short calculation and consideration, he leapt down the door frame onto the clean counter, then down onto the floor and skittered off out of the kitchen.

Yena sighed and walked to the main dining table, where she had been unpacking a gift-box before Taec’s intrusion. She picked up the letter that had come together with the gift and began reading it.

“You can’t cut off the cat’s whiskers,” Taec said walking closer to her. “He would feel disoriented.”

“I know,” Yena retorted immediately, her eyes on the letter.

It was interesting. Plus, it allowed her to focus on something else rather than the bronze piece of a 19th century art behind her back. She suddenly wondered if any laser dermatology procedure could ever make her skin look at least a little bit like Taec’s. Damn lucky sun-kissed bastards.

“And I’m not sure about the kimchi and tea part,” he said and she stopped reading, although the lines in a pretty neat although old-fashioned handwriting were still right in front of her. “Maybe it’s just the way your brain reacts to whatever vampire chemical factor that comes off me.”

Yena typed something quickly into Google search – her laptop was always with her, and this time it lay next to the gift box. Not sure which search result to click, she turned to him, little by little processing everything he had said.

“Yeah…” she eyed him up and down. “Clothes.”

Taec grinned, touching his chest with his fingers splayed wide.

“Why? Is my awesomeness making you feel uncomfortable?” he wiggled his eyebrows.

“Taec,” Yena sighed. “You know you are handsome. Don’t make it more awkward than it already is,” and she turned back to her laptop.

Taec looked around for clothes. Naturally, the only pieces of cloth in the kitchen were random towels, curtains… and a big white tablecloth spread across the dining table. He smirked.

Yena was busy reading on the Internet about what looked like a huge set of chocolate in the gift box, when he slowly crept to the table and snatched at the end of the tablecloth. She was quick to sense the menace.

“What are you--? Huh? Hey! No, wai—ARGH!”

And before she could say anything else, Taec pulled the 3-metre tablecloth off the table so fast that whatever had been there on the table-top, it didn’t even stir. Yena’s laptop remained where it was. Didn’t even move an inch. She blinked.

Taec wrapped the tablecloth triumphantly around himself, his lips pressed together in a satisfactory geeky smile, the huge white sheet on his shoulders falling down like an authentic toga. He hung the excessive part of the cloth on his right forearm, while his left arm and shoulder remained exposed.

“Lovely,” Yena said eyeing him up and down again, and then taking one packet from the box and ripping it in half.

It really looked like chocolate. She looked at the contents on the packet again, then at the article on her laptop screen. At least it took her mind off the fact how tasty the contrast between the snow-white tablecloth and Taec’s skin looked. Now she had to concentrate on the taste of this brown looking… thing.

“Interesting,” she hemmed.

“What?” Taec moved closer, eyeing the brown bar in her hand.

“Try this,” she broke the bar into two long sticks, offering one to Taec and putting the other into her mouth.

“You mean, me eat this?” Taec hesitantly took the stick while Yena munched quickly on hers. “What is this?” he asked taking a tentative bite.

“It’s a food supplement for blood. Recommended for the anaemic and those with poor nutrition,” Yena explained chewing the stick and trying to figure out what the taste was. “Sugar, iron, and so on… How is it?”

“It’s…” Taec’s eyes widened as he ran his tongue across his teeth. “It’s… SWEET!!” he stared at the rest of the stick-bar in his hand and then gobbled it down immediately. “I mean… it tastes like a grass stick… but sweet! It’s no longer just a feeling, but the taste, too,” he looked at her, his eyes shining. “How did you do it?”

 “Oho…” she smirked raising her eyebrows and picking up the letter again. “So, they DO put calf blood in it…”

“What?” Taec’s eyes grew to the size of tennis balls.

Yena cleared her throat ready to read the letter:

“ _Dear Yena, this is something I accidentally came across at a supermarket while visiting my old lands. It is a food supplement with iron, especially recommended for the anaemic. What caught my attention was that someone at the supermarket pointed out with distaste that “they put calf blood in it.”_

 _“I am not sure how much of that is true, but you will definitely be able to find out. If it’s just an urban legend in the end, at least it will be a good supplement for a person of your condition. Now, who says I don’t care about the people I make alliances with. I do my research. Hoping to see you soon. Eat well. Amber_ ,” Yena sighed after a lengthy read. “And a smilie face,” she angled her head. “A millennium-old vampire using smilies. Wicked.”

“Humans make food supplements with oxen blood?” Taec blinked surprised, already gloating over the rest of the sweet packets in the box. Yena shrugged.

“It doesn’t say anything about it in the ingredients, but I googled a bit, and if Google translator isn’t a total crap, most of the people do say that this thing has calf blood. I mean, it should, otherwise, you would’ve been hurling your stomach out by now,” she turned around ready to send a thank-you mail to Amber. Her email address was scribbled at the top corner of the letter. “You’re just lucky your body can absorb water for some reason. That’s why you can digest wine, but this is clearly a totally different level.”

“And it’s sweet,” Taec still couldn’t believe it. “Can I have another one?”

“No, it’s mine. Wait till I order and ship a box for you,” Yena was relentless while typing away on her laptop.

“But…” Taec pouted. “Can’t we share?”

“Just wait a little and see if it has any negative consequences or not, geez,” Yena rolled her eyes. “It’s a food supplement. Can’t have more than one bar a day. Even as a vampire.”

“But…”

“Evening everyone,” Wooyoung entered the kitchen with snowflakes in his jet-black hair and behind his collar, his backpack on his shoulders and a white eco bag in hand. He stopped momentarily eyeing Taec in the tablecloth and then walked further towards the counter, obviously having decided not to ask any questions.

“Evening,” Taec raised his hand. The one that was free of toga. “Where were you?”

“School,” Wooyoung shrugged, layers of snow falling on the floor. “I’ll clean this,” he assured seeing Yena’s left eye twitch. “And food,” he put the bag onto the counter next to the sink. Whatever was inside, it clonked like full glass containers.

“Jars from the butcher again?” Taec sighed.

“They gave me a discount on swine blood this time,” Wooyoung looked rather perky.

He took off his backpack, throwing it onto the chair in front of Yena, and opened the cupboard above the sink, pulling out his personal black porcelain cup decorated with small red foxes.

“And the guy at the counter said I should make good groats sausage…” he sounded confused. “I don’t think I got him right. Couldn’t quite get his accent… what’s groats?” Wooyoung furrowed his eyebrows while pulling the jars out of the bag.

He put one one-litre jar into the fridge and opened the other one, ready to fill his cup. He didn’t bother to do everything in human speed, so he was pretty quick.

“Maybe the person was one of those Eastern European immigrants working here,” Yena guessed. “And he just didn’t know how to call it in English… they have this kind of sausage where they mix grains with oxen or swine blood, then stuff it into entrails and bake it…”

“Kinda like _soondae_ ,” Taec noted.

“When you think of it,” Wooyoung dipped a straw into his cup and leaned against the counter, crossing his feet, ready to take a sip. “Humans are so gross.”

“Look who’s talking,” Yena cocked an eyebrow packing up her gift box and taking it away from Taec, storing it inside one of her cupboards full of spice, noodles, tea, and what not.

Taec couldn’t fight the sadness that crept into his face. Wooyoung shrugged again and took a sip while watching Taec clad in Yena’s tablecloth. He couldn’t take it anymore.

“Hyung,” he uttered after having swallowed a sip of swine blood. “Ripped your shirt again?”

“Huh?” Taec blinked. “Oh yeah, right. But look at that, I can do this!” he threw the tablecloth off his shoulders onto the floor almost sending Yena into a cardiac arrest (because of the tablecloth of course). “Look!” he roared again, wriggling and bending and hey, what would you know, performing quite a decent wave.

Wooyoung, however, remained blank as always. He took another sip through the straw and walked closer to Taec, totally unperturbed.

“That was lovely,” he said patting Taec on his cheek. “But next time, try without roaring.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your continuous hits and kudos :)
> 
> This chapter sees the introduction of another original character, Amber. Amber is a tribute to the lovely [@refan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/refan/pseuds/refan), whom I've got the pleasure to know outside of the boundaries of the Internet.
> 
> To tell you the truth, Amber is one of the hardest characters to write in this story. I always put a lot of thought into her, and I often get the feeling that it's not enough because I want to juxtapose her against other female characters in the story (current and still to come), and I want her to be just as weighty as the rest. However, the initial reader response to Amber's character had been better than I anticipated, so I was really glad.
> 
> This is a silly chapter where my younger self just dished out on various things she liked about 2PM, but it fits seamlessly into the tapestry, and I didn't have the heart to slice it off.
> 
> And yes, that TaecWoo tango dance is the acrobatic move from Still 02:00 PM Teaser ;)
> 
> Thank you for reading, and until the next Friday!  
> Also, you can always drop me a comment if you have questions about the story or the characters ^^
> 
>  
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Egle0702)


	4. #4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🔷 Hwang Chansung from Joseon.  
> 🔷 Lee Junho meets Jang Wooyoung.  
> 🔷 Imprint Professor Nichkhun.  
> 🔷 Chansung runs into an old friend.

_Joseon, 1440s_

 

He stood atop the hill overlooking the town. It was a fortress on the Han River, surrounded by hills and mountains and a long defence wall. He could see people bustling around in narrow busy streets like ants in an anthill. Soldiers marching here and there, everything resembling a big, complicated, stuffy maze.

With the sun shining bright he could see the town in all of its vibrant colours, most of which were, however, various shades of sandy and brown. Patches of green, pink, blue or yellow were either from the vegetables sold in the market, or the cloths hung outside the dyer’s store.

Chansung narrowed his eyes. The sun was very bright in June, even though it was setting already. The top of the hill was blessed with light breeze coming from the West, and it danced around him, making the grass around his feet sway, touching upon his long dark cherry robe, then going up in circles and making the ends of his headband flap and fall on his left shoulder.

His black hair was a mess, dancing with every single gust of the wind, leaning and bending whenever the wind pushed at it. He had it cut recently and seldom wore it in the usual top-knot, making everyone in the household blink at the young master’s peculiarities.

But the Hwang clan was nothing if not practical, keeping in mind their military origins. Having had a few generals in their line and being a part of the group that had helped establishing the Joseon dynasty, they were affluent enough to educate their children and make them pass the exams to become government officials. So, it was no big deal if one of the kids was a little bit odd in his head to wear his hair shorter than it was supposed to.

So, Chansung passed the exam. And he was obviously going to get a position in the court. Even though he still wasn’t quite sure whether he enjoyed fighting or reading more. But there was no other kid among his cousins who would have liked reading or would have had brain good enough for cramming Chinese characters, so he was the one to take on the task.

Looking ahead, he saw the palace at the far end of the town, right in front of a wave-shaped hill. He had spent almost a whole day over there, and then he had come outside to get some fresh air. He wanted to get out of the town that reminded him of a castle with its long defensive walls.

Chansung felt strangely accomplished. Not because it was the direction his family pushed him to, but because he had finally found something (he was sure) he might have fun dealing with. He just had to wait a little bit.

“I don’t want to leave,” he said to no one in particular.

“Young master?” his servant, a man slightly older than him and round in his face and body, answered nevertheless. “You’re not leaving anywhere.”

Chansung turned around, giving the man a wide smile.

“No, I mean this hill, I want to stay a little longer,” he nodded. “You can go home, Munbong. Tell father everything went well.”

“As you wish, young master,” the man bowed. “Should I also tell the master that the young lady was fond of your hair?” he grinned making Chansung laugh out loud.

“Of course, you can mention that,” he nodded.

Munbong bowed once again and trotted down the hill. Chansung watched the plump man disappear behind a green slope and then turned around to face the town again. He had passed the palace official exam because he liked doing everything by the rules. And he was soon to marry a girl from the royal family. Chansung took a deep breath of slightly heavy, but fresh summer air. Life was great.

He waited until the sun went down and then slowly made his way back into the town. The guards at the gate let him in immediately; he didn’t even have to show his name plate or the family seal. There were still people in the streets although everything was considerably calmer compared to the buzz of the day.

Walking down a rather broad street, just a few blocks away from his own house, Chansung was deep in thought about the next day and possibly the whole oncoming year. First, he was going to get well acquainted with all the officials that he was going to work with. Then, he would have to study some more because there were still some parts of various analects he didn’t know by heart. Also, he was considering buying a ring or roll of golden cloth for his future wife. The girl seemed to be fond of anything golden. Or perhaps there was something else. He decided to ask his sister-in-law about it, because she was her cousin twice removed as far as he could remember. And then he would need to…

His body moved before his brain could even register anything. The Hwang clan was sure to train his reflexes well since the early days. His arm shot up, snatching the offender’s wrist and pulling him around, pushing him to the nearest wall. His forearm rammed into the attacker’s neck.

Chansung met his offender’s eyes. In dusky twilight, the man looked in his late 30s; he had a goatee and wore dark clothes, clearly trying to mix in with his surroundings. Chansung frowned.

“What is it that you want?” he growled. To his surprise, the man grinned. His teeth were healthy and pearly white. Chansung had never seen such pretty teeth. The man was either a shaman or a king.

“You will be a great one,” he uttered in a weird old dialect.

“Pardon?” Chansung was absolutely clueless, but before he knew it, the man grabbed him, rammed him into the wall, and bit him… wait, what? A bite?

Chansung still managed to wonder despite all the pain, and then he knew he was in trouble, because the pain was slowly fading away, and that could mean only one thing: he was about to lose his consciousness.

 

 

***

 

 

_Daegu Metropolitan area, summer 2010_

 

He did not appreciate the dialect. He couldn’t understand why the girls went totally gaga about it. Sure, he had to agree it had some charms and occasionally was even funny, but most of the time he found it annoying and simply too loud. Everyone was shouting around here. Junho clamped his ears with his big hands, staring at the bonfire so that he wouldn’t need to listen to these people around him anymore.

His dance club group from the university had gone down to Daegu for the school year-end MT, where they were supposed to meet other clubs from national universities and just have fun, or (to translate it into the student jargon) to gossip, eat until you explode, hook up with people, and get totally wasted.

Junho was actually OK with that. After all, everyone needed a little bit of fun from time to time. What he didn’t expect though, was to see all their girls flail about these Gyeongsang province guys.

Junho snorted putting his bottle of beer to his lips and taking a gulp. So yeah, they talked in a dialect, big deal. He looked around the bonfire to see if there was any local girl present. Local girls loved guys from Seoul.

They were uptown, in one of those places around the hills where landowners would build big houses with grassy yards and then rent them to whoever wanted to spend there a weekend, a month or a year. Big houses were especially popular among students for their MTs. Students especially liked those houses that could hold more than 30 people.

Three dance clubs from three different national universities had paid for two days and a night in a huge two-story house some 20 km outside of Daegu, in a nice hilly valley, far from the city noise. They had everything they needed there: electricity, water, fire, Wi-Fi, music, a place to sleep, food, and drinks. They had even built a huge bonfire in the late June night in the middle of the yard, just like they had seen in the movies and random dancing was about to ensue.

They were still yelling when Junho got up from his seat on a bulky log and went to put his empty bottle next to the rest of the emptied glass containers. Being the new “woke” generation, they were obviously recycling. He was actually afraid he might start talking in the Gyeongsang dialect by the next morning.

Junho ran his hand through his brown-dyed hair and looked around, wondering what he should do. Not that he was a loner or anything. Just that there was a time in every party when after a busy period one would find himself suddenly all alone before diving straight into another activity.

A sonorous voice echoed through the dialectal noise and Junho’s ears perked up. The voice also spoke in a dialect, but it felt different. It sounded different. That must’ve been one of those people from Busan. Not all members of the Busan National University dance club had arrived to the MT, so they were a little bit outnumbered by the Daegu and Seoul crews, and most of the time their voices just drowned in the Daegu noise. Damn, he still had to get to know them all.

Once the voice stopped talking, someone turned on the music and the cheering erupted in loud waves. Everyone gathered around the bonfire. Wondering what was going on, Junho walked over just to see their club president emerging from the crowd. He was quick to notice the kid and he snatched Junho at his arm immediately.

“Junho-yah! They’re doing a dance battle,” he said, his eyes a bit glassy due to all the alcohol he had consumed. “We need you.”

“Hyung,” Junho laughed being pulled into the middle of the crowd. Hip hop boomed from the speakers on the second-floor balcony. “I don’t think I can help; I’ve had a drink or two…”

“Everyone’s drunk, Junho-yah!” the president shrugged. “Don’t worry, go!” and he pushed him into the middle of the circle.

“LEE JUNHO!!! LEE JUNHO!!! LEE JUNHO!!!” the Seoul kids chanted.

Junho looked around to see that he was stuck in the middle of the circle with another guy. He was around his height, perhaps slightly taller, lean; dressed in a t-shirt, joggers, and trainers with a dishevelled bowl cut and a blank face expression. He remembered seeing the guy before when they arrived at the homestead, but he didn’t recall talking to him.

“Hi,” Junho offered his hand. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced. Lee Junho.”

“Jang Wooyoung,” the guy nodded taking his hand and giving him a firm shake. The way he said his name, his voice moved in distinct tone patterns, but it didn’t sound too raspy, so Junho decided he was from Busan.

“Just you?” he asked.

“Those Daegu bastards decided to dump the honour of defending Gyeongsang-do “pride” solely on me,” he shrugged although Junho could tell the guy was slightly irritated.

“Well then,” Junho puckered his full lips. “You start. I’m a bit tipsy with all the beer I’ve had anyways.”

“Too bad,” Wooyoung eyed him up and down with his dark orbs, his thin lips stretching into a smirk.

“Why?”

“Because I had none,” he flashed him a smile; making Junho think Jang Wooyoung had a good dentist back in Busan.

Before he could react, off that Busan boy went. And Junho knew he had to sober up immediately, because Jang Wooyoung was good. Very good. His ears were soon flooded with loud cheers.

“JANG WOOYOUNG! JANG WOOYOUNG! JANG WOOYOUNG!”

It went on and on. And once his sequence of fluid yet sharp movements stopped, Junho knew it was his turn.

He listened closely to the music and he first began moving his legs, and his waist, earning a squeal or two (“ _Oh my gosh, look at that ass!_ ”), and then he launched into a full-fledged pseudo b-boying with handstands on grassy ground, body freezes in various positions, and what not.

“LEE JUNHO! LEE JUNHO! LEE JUNHO!” was what followed.

Jang Wooyoung was not about to give up. And Junho liked it. He felt like he’d finally met someone able to challenge him because back in Seoul, during his club activities there were times he felt the others were not going all-out with him on purpose.

Lee Junho was smooth, detailed, and polished. Jang Wooyoung was rawer and more spontaneous, with a tremendous amount of feel. Both of them together were a perfect set, what they didn’t realize was that the crowd kept on cheering because they simply wanted the show to never end. Presidents of the Busan and Seoul National Universities’ dance clubs were already talking behind the backs of the crowd, planning a joint performance at school festivals the next semester with Jang Wooyoung and Lee Junho as the lead dancers.

A girl in the crowd tapped her friend’s shoulder, putting her lips to her ear, so that she could hear better through all this noise.

“So now you’re glad I’ve invited you, huh?” she laughed when her friend just widened her eyes and kept on staring at the two boys dancing in the middle of the circle. “Which one? They’re gonna be here until tomorrow evening, you know. I don’t think they’ve brought anyone along. Wanna try something?”

Her friend didn’t seem to hear her. She was enthralled. She could only see the two boys dancing.

“I don’t know,” she whined biting her lips and drawing blood. “I just can’t choose.”

 

 

 

Chansung stood at the top of the hill watching a bonfire from afar. It must’ve been one of these MT parties that kids enjoyed so much nowadays. He had left the town because Minjun’s meeting with Jihoon-hyung was definitely going to take a while, and Chansung had always preferred nature to a city landscape. Even if most of the time, it was pierced with loud music in this century. He was quite far away from the party, but he could still hear the beat and the cheers. Well, vampire senses, what else one could expect.

Sitting down onto the steep slope, Chan kicked the earth with his thick black boots and sighed. This time of the year always reminded him of the time he was turned. And mostly of the plans he had made before that.

This time of the year and this one day in June was the only time he allowed himself to wonder what had become of all the people he was acquainted with at the time. His family was relatively easy to track.

With the clan records still intact, he knew the descendants were alive and kicking in Seoul, Fukuoka, Jilin, and San Francisco. But… what he really wanted to know sometimes was what had happened to the girl he was supposed to marry. Had they found another husband for her? Had she lived well? Had she had any descendants? She did seem like a nice girl, from what he remembered. And she had really loved rice cakes.

Chansung smiled and looked up at the sky, ignoring the noise from the bonfire far down below. He wondered how long it would take to count all the stars he could see. Quite some time even for a vampire, probably.

“Did Minjun-hyung come?” he heard a low voice and reclined back his head, his mouth gaping open, to see an upside-down image of Ok Taecyeon dressed in black and walking towards him.

“No, what made you think he’d be here?” Chansung frowned slightly, standing up.

“I don’t know…” Taec looked around slightly confused. “I thought I felt him…” he rubbed his head messing up his dark hair. “Weird…”

“Maybe it was Khun,” Chansung suggested, slowly tuning into his vampire senses: If Taec said he felt something, there definitely should’ve been something. That kid was no shit.

“Nah. You know I can tell Khun apart immediately…” Taec walked to the end of the slope, his eyebrows knotted in a frown. “It really felt more like Minjun-hyung… Hey!” he looked up at Chansung suddenly. “I can still feel it.”

“Yes,” Chansung turned around, catching up on the familiar tug in the air that always sent shivers down his spine. “But it’s not hyung. It’s familiar, but not him. And it’s somewhere close,” he suddenly hushed looking down at the bonfire and the people over there.

“You think someone might be hunting,” Taec asked coming closer and looking down as well.

“Could be,” Chansung clenched his jaw.

Hunting with so many people around was extremely foolish and risky. If the nocturnal world had had hospitals for behavioural treatment, Chansung would’ve placed such vampires in there no questions asked.

“But who could it be,” Taec wondered. “It feels too familiar to be just a simple sync of frequencies.”

“Someone with the same imprint,” Chansung mused.

“But…” Taec blinked looking at the elder. “But you’re the only one who has hyung’s direct imprint. And Minjun-hyung has never turned anyone…”

“There’s more than just traces of hyung’s imprint in our blood,” Chansung pointed out and turned to face Taec who was now slightly confused.

Chansung angled his head, his heavy eyelids covering half of his eyes, him looking absolutely mesmerising in twilight.

“Don’t forget that hyung was also turned at some point. He carries his own imprints… and they went down to us as well. And Minjun-hyung clearly wasn’t the only child…”

“So, whoever is down there…” Taec glued the pieces together in his mind. “Could be hyung’s sibling?”

“Or their progeny,” Chansung focused at the faraway party again. “The feeling is too fragmented and the imprint seems to be diluted. But I suggest we just stay and watch for a while. Even if hyung calls.”

“Why?” Taec curiously glanced down, following Chansung’s gaze.

“Because… what do they say again these days…” Chansung smirked still keeping his eyes on the target. “My spider senses are tingling.”

 

 

***

 

_Edinburgh, winter 2010, present day_

 

The sun was still up, but there was no other way but to turn on the lights in the office at 3 p.m. because the layer of clouds was extremely thick. Even the huge floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the best parts of Newtown from the top floor of the building couldn’t help with that.

Khun sat at his black steel alloy and glass desk, leaned comfortably into his luxurious leather-upholstered office chair, reading monthly reports on his company’s sales and profits, loans and deficits, turnovers, and all that jazz. He seemed to blend in with his office pretty well: His dark suit and silvery hair matched the black and steely grey floor, book cases, tiles, and even the black-and-white pictures on the walls. There was just one thing falling completely out of context in this almost sterile environment: Bobby.

She was a distinct blurb of red and green in the far corner of his office, sitting at a desk much smaller than his, set near the windows. Her desk was draped with tons of paper, and she was basically hogging everything, trimming and sorting out accounts, requests and, most often, personal mail to the chairman.

As she had been in a need of an internship for her college (“ _College? How come you’re so young?_ ” “ _I’M A GENIUS!! ><_”), having vampire acquaintances turned out to be really useful: A winter-break internship at an international company would certainly look great in her college report and on her CV. And, as Khun was always a little bit short of trustworthy people at hand, he could always find a secretary who required no salary useful.

Bobby wondered how Khun was able to keep such a low profile being the main CEO (and possibly a founder) of three large worldwide companies. He must’ve worked along with some human families. Families he’d made rich throughout the centuries, and who valued their affluent life more than exposing vampires to the general public. Not to mention that even with zero exposure Khun was rather popular already.

She was sorting out the papers and the mail into different categories: accounts, reports, thank you mail, business proposals, advertisements, and… love letters. Bobby was rather surprised to see the pile of the latter on the corner of her desk keep on growing, as she kept on going through everything.

She didn’t really read any of that, just opened and left the papers lie together, but nevertheless, she caught a glimpse of “ _if there was any way to conquer your heart_ ,” “ _would you be so kind and go to dinner with me_ ,” and “ _I want you_.” Judging from handwritings and signs underneath the printed letters, he was equally admired by both men and women. Bobby couldn’t help but steal glances at him from time to time.

Well, sure. He was handsome. Ethereal even. They all would strike you as something special, but Khun was definitely the visual shock of the coven.

Yet, Bobby was the type of a person who looks for flaws no matter what, and she was soon to notice that his long legs were a bit too skinny for her liking. If it came to legs, she would’ve rather chosen Wooyoung or Taecyeon… Or Chansung.

Then sometimes she would catch Khun’s head in such an angle that he reminded her of an old bald monkey grandpa. She didn’t know why. Must’ve been those big chocolate eyes. And thick eyelashes. She added another love letter into the pile.

Or maybe they found him so attractive because they didn’t know of his nocturnal nature. Then again, Bobby pursed her lips before scanning over a business proposal, with most of the human population being as shallow as it was, as long as Khun was rich as hell, they would’ve banged him even if he were a mutant slug from Planet Zogg. Putting the business proposal into the medium pile of sheets of paper, Bobby reached out for another envelope.

She’d heard stories. Minjun and Chansung were rather eager to fill her in on how they came to be what they were. Khun really was the money-making machine of the coven. Despite his royal background (or maybe because of it) he had a good head for commerce and, as Chansung noted, sometime around the 18th or 19th century, he realized that with the human population growing and the capitalism expanding, they had to jump into the bandwagon before it was too late and their ways got too outdated for the fast-forwarding world.

So, he ventured into business with a couple of trustworthy humans at hand, regularly changing his headquarters so as not to make people and business partners grow too suspicious. His vampire longevity was something that allowed him to acquire enough money to provide the coven with a comfortable life in the midst of human capitalism.

And if their financial status weren’t enough, Bobby understood that they were somehow related to this Prince Taejo guy. This should have put them on a rather nice and convenient step in the overall Korean vampire hierarchy. Bobby still had to find out more about that.

It was obviously Minjun tying the coven to this ruler of all Korean vampires, and she really wanted to know what it was that made them so close. She even dared to dream of seeing this vampire prince sometime around, but she figured that voicing out such thoughts would've been close to being genuinely suicidal, so she just kept her mouth shut about it.

On the other hand, Bobby wouldn’t have been Bobby if she didn’t voice her opinion about the current onslaught of business proposals.

“The number of business proposals is twice as usual,” she said adding another one into the pile. “And most of them are from the Northern part of the Isles… what did you do? Found gold in Shetland or something?”

“Hyung’s engagement with Lady Amber made us more… attractive business partners for the locals,” Khun answered not taking his eyes off the report. “Most of them are vampire enterprises, and so now they can go directly through us if they have plans for business venture in Korea. They don’t need to reach out to the royal office anymore.”

Bobby blinked trying to digest that, her face completely blank.

“Really?” she sounded unconvinced. “What can you offer to the locals? They basically have everything. Even the weather.”

Khun slowly put the report down on his desk and focused his gaze on Bobby. She wanted to hide under the table.

“North Korea,” he said.

“What about it?” Bobby felt totally confused.

“It’s one of the few places in the world where it is still possible for a vampire to engage in a full-fledged hunt. Some of the older vampires pay good money for the hunting licence in our territory.”

“But…” Bobby’s brain was a mess. “But… isn’t North Korea like… very secluded, and the people are like… tallied or something… I don’t really…”

“The work camps and dissidents are very useful,” Khun explained putting his elbows on the desktop and resting his chin on his hands. “Eventually they don’t even know what hit them: the government or the vampires. It’s a good business.”

“You’re… making use of those poor people like… as if they were cattle?” Bobby gaped. “That’s cruel!!”

Khun was close to snorting.

“So, sue me,” he shrugged. “It’s good money, and we have to make use of it before the regime changes. The royal territory includes the entire Korean peninsula, but, unfortunately, we have to take into consideration the human authorities as well.”

“So, you’re working along with this Kim Jong-Il guy?” Bobby was disgusted.

“Not directly,” Khun shook his head. “But I don’t think they mind when a person or two disappear once in a while. Less people to feed, more money to spend on luxury goods, and so on.”

“I don’t know which is worse…” Bobby’s face contorted with disgust. “Humans or vampires…”

Khun smirked.

“I don’t remember asking your opinion,” he said. “It’s nothing personal just business. And local vampires might have all they need, but they’re virtually in our pocket, so it’s no surprise they’re trying to… what’s the word? Wheedle? Wind themselves into our affection?”

“Why so?” Bobby forgot all the papers; Khun’s story was much more interesting.

“The local queen had a bit of a debt and I bailed her out, so now, along with the security that they have to warrant for us in their lands, they also own us quite a lot,” he pulled an angelic smile.

“Our queen had debts?!” Bobby gaped. Khun sighed rolling his eyes.

“Not YOUR queen. The British Isles VAMPIRE queen, obviously.”

“How…” she was dumbfounded. “Exactly… how rich are you really?”

Khun merely smiled again as his mobile phone vibrated in his jacket’s inner pocket. Leaving Bobby hanging, he pulled it out and looked at the caller’s ID. Despite the fact that Bobby felt slightly shell-shocked (to put it mildly), she still managed to note how Khun’s expression changed from a smug to a soft one.

“Hello?” he answered in Korean.

“I need a favour,” if anything, Chansung was always quick to get down to the point.

“Which is?”

“Look after Junho while I’m gone. He can almost feed just fine by himself, and Yena keeps him on a short leash, but just in case. The kid still needs some guidance,” Chansung voice softened as he spoke of the newest addition to the family. Khun felt somewhat vexed.

“Where are you going?”

“Korea.”

“What for?” Khun’s brows knotted in a frown. This must’ve been urgent; otherwise, he would’ve known of the trip beforehand.

With the pause that followed Khun realized Chansung was hesitant to answer. He got suspicious with a bad feeling rising from the pit of his stomach.

“Chansung?”

“I’ve got a message from Joon that he found a trace… and if I’m quick enough, I might still be able to…”

“Don’t go alone,” Khun sounded agitated all of a sudden. “You should’ve told me, it’s not fair,” he almost hissed.

“I won’t be alone,” Chansung was absolutely calm, a total embodiment of zen. “Joon will be with me, and Jihoon-hyung has just assured his people will help me out. Don’t worry,” he now sounded soothing yet urgent. “Please look after Junho.”

“You know I hate babysitting,” Khun sighed. “Taec was an exception,” he added. “I felt indebted.”

“I need it to be you,” Chansung insisted.

“Why?”

“Because both of you have my imprint,” Chansung explained like a very patient parent. “You can empathize better with him than anyone else.”

Khun exhaled slowly through his nose. Not that he needed a change of oxygen that much, but sighs still remained one of his favourite ways to express his mood.

“Fine, what about the cocky one,” Khun rubbed his face in annoyance. “He didn’t get his imprint yet, did he?”

“No, he’s still a free radical,” Khun could hear a smile in Chansung’s voice. “But don’t worry about him. Just as we’ve agreed, Taec is responsible for him until he gets an imprint or someone from the direct line claims him. Plus, I’ve had a nibble of him, so I know if he’s out of range or in some kind of trouble. That kid is talented, don’t be so hard on him.”

Khun shook his head.

“Fine.”

“So, are we good?”

“OK, I’ll take care of Junho. Be back soon. And safe.”

“See you in a week or so,” and Chansung ended their conversation. Khun stared at his phone for a while, his mind completely blank…

“What’s an imprint?” Bobby’s voice pierced the silence, and he almost flinched. Took him a while to connect the dots.

“You understand Korean?” he asked surprised.

“Watched Korean movies and dramas subbed in Thai with my mama since kindergarten,” she shrugged. “So, what’s an imprint?”

He knew he wouldn’t have her off his back until she was filled in to the fullest.

“Imprint is the main part of the bond between the master and their progeny, but it’s not limited to that,” deciding to explain everything in a logical business-kind-of-way, Khun got up from his table and slowly walked towards the windows. He looked down at the city.

“Do elaborate,” Bobby turned to face him in her swivel chair, a sheet of paper with another love letter in her hands.

“There are two types of imprints,” Khun’s voice was tender and smooth like a lukewarm liquid chocolate. “Initial imprint and final imprint. Initial imprint is shared by the master and the progeny. It creates a very strong bond, and you’re able to feel one another at a particular level, the whereabouts, the mood, and so on. The way you feel it differs from a vampire to a vampire. Initial imprint is also hereditary. Meaning: the previous imprints go down to you as well,” he sounded like a university professor.

“For example, I have Chansung’s imprint, but I can also feel Minjun to some extent, because Chansung has Minjun’s imprint, and it went down to me. Understand?” he took a glance at her and Bobby nodded eagerly.

“Right. The benefits of the initial imprint are that the progeny is very much concerned with the well-being of the master and does everything in their power to keep them alive. That is the reason younger vampires perish more often than the older ones: If it’s not the case of an one-on-one fight or the final imprint, they might put their lives on the line in order save their masters. To put it simply, master’s death inflicts excruciatingly severe physical and emotional pain to the progeny…”

“So… when Minjun’s master committed suicide…” Bobby gasped. Khun nodded.

“Hyung was pretty much devastated. But there’s more to that, so… Anyway, what we have next is the final imprint. Final imprint is acquired during the final drain. When… well, usually in a fight, a vampire totally drains another vampire. No bond is made, obviously… but with the final imprint you acquire the strength of the vampire you drain. It also varies to certain degrees, but the older the vampire you drain is, the more strength from the blood you get. Also, with the final imprint… if the vampire you drain has progeny, the final imprint connects you to those with the initial imprint.”

“It might sound complicated, but to tell you the truth, imprints can get diluted through several generations, and it requires good sensory skills to detect it, so unless we’re talking about the initial or particularly strong imprints, it doesn’t matter much.”

“Is there…” Bobby was slowly digesting the tsunami of new information. “Is there anyone, who’s like… whom you can feel… I mean, because of the connection between the initial and final imprint?”

Khun gave her a very hard stare, his face completely emotionless. He had to admit she was a lot brighter than she looked.

“There is someone,” he began slowly. “But I’m not in a position to reveal it to you.”

“Oh,” Bobby nodded playing with the paper. “Oh!” she frowned dropping the letter and hissing through her clenched teeth.

“What is it?” Khun walked closer, and she began shaking her hand. He kneeled in front of her and picked the letter up from the floor.

“Paper cut,” Bobby whined looking at her forefinger, the cut was small, but deep. “Stupid high-quality paper.”

“Well,” Khun took one glance at the letter before throwing it away into a garbage bin next to Bobby’s desk. “Won’t be answering this love letter then,” he declared reaching out his hand and clasping Bobby’s wrist with his strong fingers. “You’re really troublesome, you know that?”

And before she could say anything, he put her injured finger into his mouth, sucking slowly at it, careful not to graze her skin with his fangs. Bobby didn’t know whether she should be scared to death or melt into a puddle of goo. She was sure though that if he didn’t stop soon, she might just pee her panties on the spot.

“My… my…” she stuttered. “My hands aren’t exactly clean you know…”

“I’m not exactly concerned with human germs, you know,” Khun smirked letting go of her hand and going back to his desk. “Be careful around the locals.”

“Huh?”

“You taste very good. They might overlook the fact that you’re under our protection,” he sat down and went back to checking his monthly reports as if nothing had happened.

Bobby felt stoned. She raised her hand to her eye level. The wound on her forefinger was gone.

 

 

***

 

 

_Daegu Metropolitan area, summer 2010_

 

He looked at a bunch of burnt wood. The fire was almost out, now just black and grey coal still smouldering in shiny red from time to time. He could see the sky slowly changing colour from washed-out blue to salmon-pink in the East, but there was still some time before the sunrise. Everyone was either asleep or passed out due to the extensive consumption of alcohol.

Wooyoung looked left. The only person sober and awake enough to keep him company was Lee Junho. They sat on the log in front of what was left of the bonfire, staring at nothing in particular.

“I’m wiped out,” Junho exhaled, bending his neck backwards and staring up at the sky with his mouth gaping open. “Where did you learn to dance like that, man? You’re a machine.”

“Here and there,” Wooyoung shrugged, kicking a burnt piece of wood with his foot. “You’re pretty good yourself; I thought I wouldn't be able to keep up,” Wooyoung reached out his left hand, clenched in a fist. “Respect, man.”

Junho smirked and bumped his knuckles with the Busan boy.

“ _Here and there_ …” he snickered. “I guess that’s just called natural talent.”

“Well, look who’s talking,” Wooyoung eyed him up and down, his lips on a brink of stretching into a wry smile.

Junho laughed, eventually taking a deep breath and looking around. Early morning dusk seemed ethereal, with random birds already chirping here and there.

“Ah crap, with all this dancing I sweated all the alcohol out, and now I’m not even sleepy,” Junho signed. “And I’m all sore.”

“I hear ya,” Wooyoung patted him on the back. “Let’s admire the wonderful natural surroundings until sleep claims us.”

Junho snorted.

“What are you…?” he glanced at him. “A poet?” nevertheless, he then looked at the forest further from the homestead. “Yah, it’s really pretty here after all… wish my girlfriend could’ve come along.”

“You two’ve been together for long?” Wooyoung asked to keep the conversation going, staring at the red-hot coal.

“Nah,” Junho lazily shook his head. “But I still set the 100-day anniversary reminder on my phone, just in case,” he grinned as Wooyoung nodded his head. “What about you? Got anyone?”

“Ah… sorta…” Wooyoung shrugged. Junho frowned.

“What do you mean _sorta_?”

“I’ve known her since elementary… and we’ve been on and off since junior high… but it’s never been official…” Wooyoung chuckled. “Weird really, it’s either she’s too busy with her studies or me… we always keep in touch and we’ve been close, but…” Junho noticed how he gradually went back to his dialect, although for the last hour Wooyoung had been talking in standard Korean. “The funniest thing though is how everyone’s convinced I’m gonna end up marrying her in the end anyway.”

“Will you?” Junho raised his eyebrows.

“Will I what?” Wooyoung’s face was blank.

He was suddenly aware of how they were enveloped in an odd silence. All the birds seemed to have died out or something. It was eerie, but he made himself go back to the conversation at hand.

“End up marrying her?”

“It’s too early to think about that,” Wooyoung shrugged again. “But I don’t see why not…”

“Well, I do,” they heard a sly voice and blinked surprised at each other.

Junho didn’t have enough time to look back and see who it was, when something whooshed around and Wooyoung fell off the log unconscious. Junho’s eyes widened in astonishment and he jumped to his feet, taking frantic glances to the left and to the right.

There was a girl behind him. Her hair tied in a ponytail, looking no older than 17. He narrowed his eyes. Junho was pretty sure she was one of the Daegu bunch; he remembered her watching their dance battle.

The girl was gloating over him, biting her lips. He blinked. She was obviously drawing blood, there were dark tiny lines running down the corners of her lips. She looked a bit unstable, and Junho suddenly felt scared. If she managed to knock Wooyoung out like that, who knew what else she was capable of?

“The hell you want?” he gulped. She grinned; her teeth smudged with her own blood.

“I can’t make up my mind,” she angled her head as if talking to herself. “So I’ll just start with you.”

And Junho knew he was in a deep shit.

 

 

 

 

Taec jumped to his feet, adjusting a Bluetooth earpiece to his ear and taking a quick glance at Chansung.

“Shit, did you just see that?” they had moved one hill closer to the party grounds and, even though they were still quite far away, with the bonfire down and the vampire pupils dilated to the fullest, they could clearly see what was going on down below. “She’s just gone down for the seconds!”

“The hell’s with that woman,” Chansung scowled, a distinct line forming in between his eyebrows. “I was about to let it go with her feeding so close to humans, but if she’s draining the second one in a row… that’s already a breach. And in hyung’s lands.”

“Should I call Minjun-hyung?” Taec’s eyes sparkled in the early hours as he put his finger to his earpiece.

“We can take care of it ourselves,” Chansung looked up. “We need to hurry before the sun is up though,” and he jumped off the hill gliding towards the homestead with a burnt-out bonfire in a mind-blowing speed. “But keep it on just in case!” he yelled over his shoulder as Taec followed behind him.

The closer they got to the house, the more Chansung was sure the female vampire had a drop of the same imprint, and it definitely had come from Minjun’s master. But whoever it was to have nurtured that vampire, they hadn’t done a very good job. She was breaching several important rules at the moment.

When they finally landed in the yard, the female vampire wiped the blood off her chin and laid lifeless Wooyoung next to Junho. She looked very satisfied with herself. However, the sudden presence of two new vampires sent her off balance and she sprang backwards, crouching into offensive position and baring her teeth.

“Hands off, they’re mine,” she growled.

Taecyeon narrowed his eyes suspiciously, and Chansung took a deep sniff of air. If he had had a blood pressure, the vein in his right temple would’ve popped.

“You,” he hissed, and Taec took a few sniffs, eager to know what pissed Chansung off so bad. He got it after a third intake of air. It was bad. “You turned both of them?”

“They were so pretty,” she looked sweetly at two lifeless bodies. “They both were so good! I must have them.”

“Turning two people at the same time is a serious crime in the greater Daegu area,” Taec declared taking a step closer. “Not to mention you drained both of them in a close vicinity of humans, which is another breach of…”

“Do you have any idea who you’re talking to?” she barked. “A bloody youngling like you ain’t got no shit on me!”

Taec had never considered himself lacking as a vampire, but that second, he felt somewhat hurt. Pulling the age card was dirty. There was nothing he could do about that. He glanced at Chansung, who was basically fuming already.

“I’m afraid,” he said calmly, taking a step closer and locking his eyes on her. “You’re not quite aware of what’s going on,” he took another step forward, and Taec felt a familiar thrill crawl up his spine.

It always happened when either of the elder members of the clan would unleash their full presence. When they would no longer hide their senses and power behind a carefully crafted mental dome that kept the internal strength hidden and shielded them from external triggers.

Chansung radiated power and all the bonds that came with it, and Taecyeon felt adrenaline spike up in his system. The sheer strength of the elder made his skin crawl, but the familiar bonds flushed his brain with the relief and acute understanding that he was safe. Safe, thrilled, and protected. Taecyeon could get drunk on that feeling any day.

The female vampire, on the other hand, didn’t look as thrilled. She blanched and stared at Chansung, clearly catching on the familiar imprints, but that didn’t make her feel at ease. If anything, she looked spooked and dumbfounded.

“Who the fuck are you,” she snarled.

“Wouldn’t you like to find out?” Chansung took another step towards her, but she hissed and fled without saying a single word, leaving the two completely drained boys lying at Chansung’s feet. He turned his head slightly to the left.

“Taec,” he said.

“I’m on it,” the youngest of the coven zoomed past him after the female, zealous and dying to catch her.

Chansung pulled out his phone, kneeling in front of the two boys. It was half past three in the morning, and with absolutely no clouds in the sky, they had little time. It spared him the luxury of doubt, and he dialled the number immediately.

“Out of all people…” was what greeted him after two rings.

“Hyung, we have a problem,” Chansung said checking out the kid with brown-dyed hair and the wound on his neck.

“Chansung-ah, you know I’m busy…” Minjun stressed impatiently.

“Two boys have just been drained and turned right outside Daegu,” he figured he should get down to the point and convince Minjun it was really important. “The vampire had a trace of Master Hudun’s imprint. Taec went after her.”

“…” there was an almost tangible tension on the other end, Chansung could feel it. “Where are you?”

“The northeast quadrant.”

“We’ll be right there,” and the conversation ended.

Chansung put his phone back into his pocket and sat onto the log looking at the two boys, wondering what they were now supposed to do with them. Usually, if the master was unstable and dangerous to the vampire society, they were supposed to be terminated, and so the same fate was applied to their progeny. But, Chansung figured, these two boys were absolutely innocent. They have done nothing wrong.

He figured there was still some time left before the venom properly kicked in. They could let the human authorities bring them to the morgue, where their identities would be confirmed by their families, and then, before they woke up, they could just switch their bodies with some random corpses because the coffins were usually kept closed for the funerals anyways.

However, the problem was whether Minjun would agree to take custody of these boys. Their coven was quite large already, with four testosterone-full males in the house. And if there was someone related to them from the direct line of that female vampire, they could always get claimed, so Chansung and the others couldn’t force them to take the initial bite unless they wanted to.

He buried his face into his hands, consequently pulling at his thick black hair. This felt so complicated. And all because some bitch couldn’t control her libido and wanted to have a couple of sex toys… Chansung looked up startled by his own thought. He glanced at the two lifeless boys again, and then recalled how possessive of them she was. Well yeah, that was pretty much obvious.

His phone vibrated.

“Yeah?”

“I lost her,” Taec sounded out of breath. “I guess she really meant it when she called me a youngling, but I got her blood sample.”

“Alright, come back,” Chansung sighed, sensing an army of shiver ants going up and down his spine. “Hyung is here already.”

“Roger.”

Chansung put his phone away and looked up to see not only Minjun, but two other vampires coming his way. It took Chansung a lot of effort not to feel intimidated.

The vampire on Minjun’s right was none the other but Jung Jihoon, or Prince Taejo himself. Tall, taller than Chansung, broad-shouldered, with black dishevelled shoulder-length hair and dressed in simple jeans and dark blue sweater, he still looked like a royalty, emanating nothing but power and grandeur.

The other vampire, who followed after the prince, was lean but well-built, around Minjun’s height; he had perky eyes and a lop-sided smirk. Chansung knew him immediately, that was one of the prince’s assistants. Everyone called him Lee Joon, although Chansung was pretty sure that wasn’t his real name. Lee Joon had a reputation of being slightly bi-polar, but other than that he was a trustworthy individual, turned a very long time ago, at a human age of twenty-two.

“Hyung,” Chansung bowed. “I apologize for dragging you into this…”

“Save it, Chansung-ah,” the prince shook his head, his low raspy voice cutting through the silence. “You know that whatever concerns the late Master Hudun, concerns me as well.”

“These are the boys?” Minjun walked closer to examine the two victims.

“Yes,” Chansung nodded. “I was thinking, maybe it is best to let the humans find them and take them to the morgue before they wake…” he hushed before voicing out his concerns. “Hyung…”

“Hyung!!” Taec basically fell from the sky in front of Minjun, his shirt ripped open and his arm all bloody. “Oh crap…” he hissed and then saw they weren’t alone. “Oh shit, I mean… hyung,” he bowed to the prince. “Hi, Joon!”

“That is the vampire’s blood on your arm, isn’t it?” the prince took a deep breath through his nose, still standing close to Chansung.

“Ah, yes,” Taec nodded.

“Master Hudun’s imprint trace is there alright,” the prince glanced at Minjun, who grabbed Taec’s arm and inspected it closer, his face absolutely stony with his suspicion growing. After a few close sniffs, he was absolutely sure.

“That initial imprint, I can recognize it anywhere…” he clenched his jaw looking back at the prince. “It’s Jaebeom. Whoever turned those two, that vampire is Jaebeom’s progeny.”

Chansung thought he felt his heart jump in his chest. If what Minjun was saying was true, then they would have legal grounds to claim the custody of those boys, and he wouldn’t need to use his debate skills to convince Minjun to do so. Chansung sucked at convincing.

“But Jaebeom hasn’t been seen in Korea for many years, centuries,” Joon spoke. “According to our intelligence, he’s still overseas.”

“Then we have no other choice, but to take these boys under our custody,” Minjun announced looking at Chansung. “Where’s Khun?”

“Shanghai,” Taec and Chansung answered simultaneously.

“Shanghai?” Minjun blinked. “The hell he’s doing in Shanghai? Rectifying Chinese demographics again?”

“You know those naturals,” Chansung shrugged. “One day he suddenly wishes to be in Shanghai, then whoosh and up he goes…”

Minjun sighed shaking his head.

“Alright, then. With Khun not present… Chansung, you take care of the brown-haired one. Taec, yours is the black-haired one with the messed-up bowl cut. It’s official.”

Chansung was pretty sure he was way too old for babysitting, but with Khun out of the window, there was nothing he could do. He suddenly wished he could kick the Thai where it hurt.

“Hyung…” Taec sounded hesitant. “Me? Are you sure? I don’t even have the venom yet.”

“You have enough brain to make up for all the venom in the world,” Minjun pointed out and glanced at the prince as if looking for approval. The prince nodded.

“Make sure to have the blood packs ready when they’re up,” he said. “With the new regulations, can’t have them imprint on anyone when they’re hungry.”

“I’ll have our humans watch them during daytime,” Joon said. “And I’ll process all the legal aspects of this custody thing myself.”

“Thank you,” Minjun nodded.

“And about that vampire,” the prince added his eyes narrowing. “We’ll have the scent memorized, and Joon will let you know if…”

“She,” Taec helped.

“Joon will let you know if she comes back. She might know where Jaebeom is. We’ll also let you know if Khun’s maker reappears.”

“Really sorry to have you dragged into this,” Minjun shook his head.

“It’s OK,” the prince smiled. “Whatever concerns Master Hudun and his progeny, concerns me as well. Now,” he looked up. “We need to leave before the sun is up. Good luck with the new addition to your coven.”

“Hyung,” Minjun bowed with Chansung and Taecyeon following the suit.

“I’ll wake up the humans,” Joon offered, taking a few small stones from the ground and throwing them at the second-floor windows, naturally breaking them in process.

“Nice,” the prince folded his arms across his chest, eyeing his assistant reproachfully.

“Thanks,” Joon grinned prancing away into the forest. Taec snorted.

“He just never gets it,” the prince rolled his eyes leaving the scene as well. Minjun walked after him. Chansung stood still, watching the two pale boys, totally ignoring the growls and noises coming from the house.

“Why the long face?” Taec asked raising his eyebrows.

“No… I’m just…” Chansung shook his head. “I’m just wondering what their names are.”

“Junho and Wooyoung.”

“Huh?” he gaped at Taec. “How d’you know?”

Taec raised his bloody arm and grinned fiendishly.

“I make people talk.”

 

 

***

 

 

_Joseon, 1440s_

 

He didn’t know exactly when or how he began working for him. To be more exact, it wasn’t a normal job per se, as it would’ve been perceived in the usual business relations. It was more like mix of the relationship between a lord and a subject, father and son, older brother and the younger sibling, and anything in between. He was never sure how to pinpoint it because he was neither forced nor asked to help. He came willingly because he trusted the sovereign, and with his older sibling most certainly out of the country, the prince was now the only tie connecting him to what he still held dear: the call of the imprint was irresistible.

At eight hundred and seventy-two in vampire age, with additional decade or two in human years, Minjun was a vampire to be reckoned with. He was appointed a magistrate of the Daegu area, and he really appreciated it. Having your own piece of land for a vampire meant one always had a place to return to after decades or even centuries of wander. But he sometimes felt he was given the land for nothing. He sometimes felt he hadn’t earned it. He was more than sure that one of the reasons the prince and everyone in the Joseon vampire nobility wanted to keep him around was his blood.

It was one of those situations, when they say you can’t really choose your parents. That worked with vampires, too. You couldn’t really choose who turns you. And Minjun just happened to have been turned by arguably the oldest vampire in the Korean peninsula at the time. That is, Master Hudun was the oldest until he decided to go and burn in the sunlight some three hundred years ago.

Minjun growled under his breath, lying flat on a rooftop in the middle of the night. He was in the middle of a hunt. A hunt for a vampire.

What was it for you when you were a progeny of the oldest vampire in the land? Well, for one, when various vampire factions were consolidating power back in the human Silla era, it was good to have as many old vampires on your side, as possible.

Not only were old vampires wise and strong, their blood was also extremely valuable. Mostly for various superficial reasons (such as superstitions, because the peninsula, after all, inherently was a shaman land, and it came all the way down to the vampires as well), but nevertheless, it was important. And since Master Hudun had been the oldest, everyone had wanted a piece of him.

But he had also been old enough to stay away from the politics if he wanted to. He obviously was favouring the young (well, compared to him anyways) Goguryeo general Jung Jihoon, commonly known as Prince Taejo, and that was one of the reasons why at the beginning of the human Goryeo dynasty, Jihoon emerged as the head leader of the peninsular vampires.

With Master Hudun still alive, Minjun never really considered himself anything special. Only after the master was gone, did he begin noticing how other vampires would treat him, especially if they weren’t Prince Taejo’s supporters. The opposite factions wanted Minjun among their lines. Master Hudun’s imprint and that small amount of his blood that Minjun had were so important to them, that Minjun actually became a very valuable vampire. What, with his older sibling out of the country.

He crawled closer to the ledge of the roof, his pupils dilating to the fullest. He could smell the vampire, and he could smell blood. He must’ve been feeding. Minjun once again looked around. There was random noise of dogs barking, and people yelling from time to time, not to mention the annoying chirp of cicadas, but other than that, this was a quiet neighbourhood where the upper-class people lived. Feeding in this area… that vampire must’ve preferred noble blood. Minjun narrowed his eyes. He hated favouritism.

And he hated the power struggle. So, he had chosen to stay at Prince Taejo’s side, not only because it gave him the easiest access to the relatively calm life Minjun had been craving for (after all, he was born as a farmer), but also because Prince Taejo had obviously been held in high esteem by his late master. Otherwise, he would’ve never let the prince have his final imprint…

Minjun shook his head and flattened himself completely to the roof. Something moved. He had to concentrate on the task at hand. There were rumours that the rebellion might stir against Prince Taejo and his group. They had to prevent this by eliminating the leaders of the rebellion, before the things went out of hands. Minjun offered to take care of this Yongwan of Seoul because he was simply the closest to the location. Since he was old and experienced enough, Jung Jihoon let him do that. Minjun felt that at least this way he could make up for all the attention and favours the prince had offered him over the years.

A dog barked and Minjun suddenly crouched closer to the edge of the roof. He heard something. The sliding door of the house right across the street was opening. A distinct smell of blood reached his nostrils. Minjun narrowed his eyes. Someone really must’ve been feeding, but it wasn’t too recent. Maybe a day or a day and a half ago. Yet, whoever it was, the person surely didn’t bother to dispose of the body. Minjun clenched his jaw. He hated when vampires didn’t take their lifestyle seriously.

A vampire dressed in black stepped out of the building. His skin had a bronze hue to it, with scarce moustache and a goatee on his slightly withered face. He was around Minjun’s height, kept his black hair at the length of his shoulders and looked no older than 30 in human years. His dry body-build and scent gave him away. That was the Yongwan Minjun had been looking for. The vampire stopped and tensed. Minjun cursed inwardly. His opponent noticed something was wrong. He had no time to waste.

Bouncing off the rooftop, Minjun soared across the street, unsheathing his silver sword in the air. The vampire saw his attacker immediately and pulled out a dagger from his bootleg. Minjun didn’t even expect him to be armless.

The weapons clanged before he even reached the ground. Everything went so fast. If there were a human watching this, it all would’ve looked like a blur to them. Minjun knew he was taking a risk by attacking a vampire some two hundred years older than him, but he trusted his skills.

Spinning around with one of his knees rammed into the ground, Minjun raised his sword above his head to block Yongwan’s blow. Another clang. He had to make it quick. It was a noble neighbourhood, and the guards soon would’ve got alarmed by the fight noises.

Gliding swiftly to the left, he avoided another blow, but that also gave his opponent time to rearrange his fighting position and acquire one more weapon. Minjun blinked watching this Yongwan rip a wooden pole from a building wall. Before he could even think, the pole was thrown at him at an incredible speed, and Minjun bent backwards, his knees bent in 90 degrees, the pole zooming inches away from his chest and face. He avoided that, but Yongwan moved along with the pole and jabbed his silver dagger into Minjun’s left arm, making a deep gash.

Minjun hissed. He wasn’t too allergic to silver, and that was one of his strengths as a vampire, but it still hurt. He gained a few precious seconds to regroup his thoughts and stand back, crouching in a defensive position, as his opponent momentarily lost his concentration due to a new scent in the air.

“Oh?” the vampire smirked watching Minjun. “Master Hudun’s blood? You must be one of his children… I need you alive,” he grinned gleefully as Minjun frowned. “No one likes being Taejo’s pawn… or are you interested in my blood?” he pulled at his robes revealing his bronze neck to Minjun. “Care to take a bite?”

Minjun merely growled. If there was something he really, it was long monologues. Especially during a fight. Amazingly, there were vampires, who just wouldn’t shut up, voicing out their opinions about any little thing that spiked up their curiosity during the fight. Or how great they were and what they would do once the fight was over.

During his nocturnal years, Minjun had heard so many different versions of what could be done to his body once he’s completely drained out, that if he were to write a memoir, the explanation of methods of body disposal could take up half of the book.

Sure, Minjun had to admit he loved to talk himself sometimes as well. But everything had its own time and place. Whenever a vampire would launch into a monologue during a fight for life and death, he would be more so convinced the vampire was worth killing. Just like now.

Feeling the wound on his left forearm closing little by little, Minjun lunged forward, the sword in his right hand pointed at the vampire. Yongwan took a step back, reaching out his right hand, his dagger ready to block Minjun’s sword, but once Minjun was close enough; his claws firmly gripped the other vampire’s wrist. Despite the pain, he caught his opponent with his left hand. Yongwan clearly didn’t expect that. And that fracture of a second drenched with the element of surprise was enough for Minjun. His right hand went down, his sword slicing through his opponent’s arm and half of it was left hanging in Minjun’s left hand.

Yongwan was tough enough to stifle the scream, but he was too shocked to make a run for it or devise a counter-attack. It took him just a moment to realize he underestimated Master Hudun’s progeny, taking him for a spoilt boy, basking in his maker’s glory. He knew it was over. He just cast one more fleeting glance at the house, before Minjun’s arm swung once more and sliced his head off. The mangled body flopped onto the ground.

Minjun stood there with his sword raised up above his head, part of Yongwan’s arm still in his hand. The strong scent of the vampire’s blood filled his nostrils, but he tried his best to ignore it.

“Yes, my maker was Master Hudun. I like His Highness Prince Taejo, and no, I don’t need your dirty blood,” he answered. Better late than never.

He shook the blood off his sword and hid it inside the sheath. Then, looking around, Minjun figured he should just leave the body and other parts of it on one of the roofs in the vicinity, because in the morning, the sun would do its job and after some time, there would be nothing but a heap of ashes left. It didn’t take long to clean out the site.

Minjun was about to leave when the scent of blood coming from the house stopped him. He halted and turned to look at the dark entrance. He sure remembered the vampire casting a glance before he slashed off his head, and well, if he really had been feeding, and there was a corpse, Minjun figured he had to take care of that as well.

Keeping his nose more or less blocked because of the extensive stench of the vampire blood all around and on his clothes, he didn’t take careful sniffs of the odour coming from the building. He strolled towards it, ready to deal with disintegrating human corpse, but he stopped dead in his tracks, when the “corpse” slowly walked out into the night, looking confused and disoriented.

That moment Minjun let his nose take everything in. And he almost cursed. Among all the stench of the spilt human and vampire blood, he missed the turning point. No pun intended.

There was a young man standing in front of him. His dark cherry robes smudged with, as Minjun figured, his own blood. The man was taller than Minjun, with big brown eyes and high nose, his upper lip slightly curly. He had a mop of thick black hair and such a pale skin that Minjun guessed he was a noble before that bastard Yongwan turned him.

Oh yes, the person in front of him was obviously a new-born. He furrowed slightly looking at Minjun, though there was no menace in his big eyes. For some reason, those eyes made Minjun think of the cow he had owned in his human days. The youngling put his hand to his chest.

“My heart barely beats,” he said. “It… doesn’t,” he sounded confused.

Minjun’s eyes widened. This guy was fresh. Way too fresh. Yongwan must’ve kept him in this house waiting for him to wake. Well.

Minjun thought feverishly what he was supposed to do. Get rid of him? But the boy was an absolute new-born; he had nothing to do with whatever plots his maker had been devising against the prince. And Minjun was old enough to make certain choices himself. He even had his own lands for crying out loud. He was respected, old… and alone.

His charcoal eyes focused on the new-born again. It’s been centuries since Jaebeom left.

“I’m hungry,” said the youngling calmly. He obviously hadn’t had his imprint yet.

“What is your name?” Minjun asked.

“Hwang Chansung,” he answered with a slight bow.

Minjun cocked an eyebrow. He never thought he would look that presentable to receive a nod from a high-class kid. Or maybe as a vampire he already felt that the person in front of him was much older… Making his decision in a split of a second, Minjun rolled up his left sleeve. The wound inflicted by the silver dagger had almost closed by then.

“Why am I eyeing your arm as if it were an exquisite specimen of beef?” Chansung asked sounding vaguely surprised.

“Well, Chansung, my name is Minjun, and I will tell you everything, when you take a bite of it,” Minjun promised, offering his forearm to the new-born.

Chansung was taught well. He knew that people weren’t supposed to eat people, but he was hungry, and this man sounded very sure when he told him to take a bite. Whatever it was, for Hwang Chansung, food came first. So, he secured Minjun’s forearm in his grip and bit.

 

 

***

 

 

_Seoul, winter 2010, present day_

 

“Stop following me around, will ya? The hell’s wrong wit you? You deaf? Cannot compute? Stop annoying people!”

“Not exactly, _people_ …”

“What, you’re gonna argue about semantics now?”

Chansung stopped. He didn’t know what it was that caught his attention. It was probably the intonation.

He was in a busy street next to Dongdaemun plaza, standing in front of a traffic light close to the Cheonggyecheon stream. It was Christmas Eve and the place was so crammed with people that he wondered how he managed to catch the dialogue in the midst of all the noise and never-ending Christmas pop songs coming from every single café and shop.

He was on his way to meet Joon, who had arranged their meeting at some Japanese bar in Myeongdong. That was really beyond crazy. Dongdaemun was full of people already. Myeongdong was bound to be packed even more. Christmas Eve in Korea was not something to be messed with.

It was like the Valentine’s Day and your best MT party combined. On the other hand, Chansung could use that. He could always pretend to be dumb, especially as Joon sometimes considered him to be rather lacking in the brain department, and use the crowd as an excuse of being late (“ _I wanted to blend in with the people you know, go mainstream_ ”). Really, why the hell not.

So Chansung walked away from the stream of people slowly walking down the pavement and took a look around. His instincts told him he was supposed to be looking for a foreigner: the Korean in that conversation was OK, but there was something in the intonation that didn’t quite sound right. He took a few deep sniffs. Not that foreigners smelled any different, but sometimes…

He froze. There was a vampire nearby. And the scent was familiar. Plum blossoms filled his nostrils. He looked around frantically, taking in deep breaths of air, trying to ignore gazillion different scents that mostly came from the perfume and colognes the humans wore all around him.

His eyes finally landed on two figures in front of the entrance to the Doota Shopping Mall. Throngs of busy shoppers were hurrying to and fro around them. He blinked. Chansung could recognize that hazel-brown hair anywhere. He headed towards them.

“Dongjun-ah, it’s not that I don’t like you, but you’re clearly missing something here…”

“Emma?” Chansung asked when he stood behind them.

A figure clad in a dark coat turned around and, when her grey-blue eyes looked up at him, he knew it was her. The female vampire’s head barely reached Chansung’s shoulders, but her face suddenly brightened up as if an idea had struck her, and she mouthed “help me” in Korean. She looked pleading.

Chansung glanced forth at the boy she had been talking to. He wasn’t very tall. Shorter than their new-born twins, obviously human with a handsome yet stern face and shiny eyes. Korean. And very young. Chansung guessed he was in his late teens. The way he was eyeing Chansung, without any fear or confusion, confident and proud… Chansung was quick to add two and two…

“There you are,” he leaned down and gave her a tight bear hug, totally blanking the boy and playing the part very well. “I’ve been looking all over for you. I told you we should’ve met at the underground.”

“You know I hate crammed subways,” she chirped back, hugging him and smiling. She didn’t have to fake that; the female vampire was genuinely glad to see Chansung. “Even I have limits.”

When Chansung let go of her, she turned to look at the boy, who was watching everything with his jaw clenched and his hands shoved into his jacket’s pockets, clearly to hide his fists.

“Dongjun-ah…” she began.

“I’m not giving up,” he declared in a slightly accented formal standard Korean, turned around, and left, disappearing in the crowd.

Chansung looked down at the female. He still kept his left arm around her waist.

“Emma, what was that all about?” he asked slightly confused.

“That’s the familiar the locals assign to me whenever I’m in the country. The kid’s been totally hitting on me for months,” she heaved a very tired sigh.

“Is he even legal?” Chansung raised his eyebrows.

“He says he’s turning eighteen in two months…” she rolled her eyes. Chansung looked genuinely scandalized. “I’m not taking advantage of the kid, Hwang Chansung!” she gasped horrified. “I’m old as fuck, but I have some decency!” she hissed.

“I know, I know,” Chansung smiled hugging her again.

Even though Emma was a true-born British vampire, she made him feel like home. That made him think though.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

She didn’t really have any lands or a coven, nor had she ever sworn allegiance to one sovereign or the other. She was a rare absolutely free radical, working with the vampires she wanted to associate with. The closest to a 21st century nomad one could get.

“Amber sent me here to scout out North Korea,” she said freeing herself from his grasp. “She was kind of short of staff, so she called for me. This marriage thing with Minjun is really working, isn’t it?” she grinned. “What about you?”

“Family business. I was on my way to meet Joon, actually…”

“Joon?” she gasped, her dark eyebrows knotting in a frown. “That little punk!”

“Why?” Chansung blinked.

“He’s two-timing us! I’m supposed to meet him in… 20 minutes? Or is your matter really simple?”

“Not really,” Chansung bit his lower lip.

“Come on,” Emma grabbed him by his hand and pulled him across the street, slicing through the crowd like a hot knife through butter. Chansung would sometimes forget how much force this old vampire had despite her small frame.

“He probably simply forgot…” Chansung offered while muttering apologies to the left and to the right.

“Yeah sure…” Emma scoffed. “He won’t forget after tonight. He might be an assistant of that prince of yours whachamacallit, but Lee Joon is still younger than me, and if there’s one country in the world where age matters, it’s here. And so help me; I’m going to make use of that.”

Chansung sure didn’t want to be Lee Joon tonight. An 800-year-old female vampire scorned was not something one would like to have for dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you reading and leaving kudos! Again, it motivates me because I can see that there are quite a few of you opening this story.
> 
> Starting from this chapter, I will start adding dates to "present day" parts as well because they will start moving forward, too. As you can see, the "present day" is actually 2010 (yes, Vampire PM is a period piece). The story takes place December 2010 - July 2011, so there will be some old historical things (as you can see in Bobby's comment about North Korea), but all in all, the world is quite the same as now, save for the older phone models :D
> 
> In this repost, I actually deleted quite a lot of old dialog, rewrote and replaced a few paragraphs, too. I'm not going tell you exactly what changed, if you have read the original on LJ, I challenge you to notice those differences >=D
> 
> Thank you for coming back to this story, and I'll bring in chapter #5 next week, bye bye <3
> 
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> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Egle0702)
> 
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> P.S. Emma!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧


	5. #5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🔷 Ok Taecyeon bakery.  
> 🔷 Chansung & Emma messing up with Joon.  
> 🔷 Chansung & Khun in a tub (literally).  
> 🔷 Junho's hungry, and Wooyoung's torturing himself. (The usual.)

_Edinburgh, present day_

 

She woke up two minutes before the alarm. Mostly because Bruno had decided to snuggle on top of her chest sometime around six in the morning, and eventually, it had just become impossible to breathe. That cat wasn’t huge, but it was a living thing of flesh and blood and a few additional pounds. And even if she had wanted to continue sleeping, the annoying winter sun wouldn’t have let her. Extremely bright sun rays were tickling at her eyelids through a bare window, and Yena frowned before opening her eyes.

The first thought she had was that she was going to kill the person who had forgotten to pull the curtains the evening before. But then she opened her eyes, instantaneously shielding them with her hand from the sunlight, and it hit her: She always kept her curtains open when the vampires were home. That way, she was sure they wouldn’t barge into her room with “Yena I need this…” or “Yena could you do that…” during the day. That is, unless of course it wasn’t cloudy. Which happened to be the common mood in the British Isles, but she could always take her chances.

This morning, however, was one of those days when the sun was brighter than bright. At almost 9 a.m. in the morning, it was dazzling. Not to mention the Northern cyclone had brought unusually cold weather to the commonly mild Edinburgh with the unexpected tons of snow that were responsible for intensifying the sun glare.

Pushing Bruno away from herself, Yena sat up slowly, blinking and heaving deep sighs. Mornings were always difficult. She hated mornings. She found sleep such a pain that she would’ve lived without it if only her human organism had allowed it.

But what she found even more irritating was that, after finally managing to fall asleep, she would always wake up in the end. That was almost frustrating. Looking at the digital clock on her nightstand, she let out a small groan. It was the Christmas Eve morning. Just great: the two things she hated the most in one. Just perfect.

Sitting at the end of her bed, she took a few more deep breaths before her head stopped spinning. Staring dumbly at her washed-out pink pyjama pants, Yena reached out towards the nightstand without even looking, to get the box of her pills. Whether it was iron, vitamin C or aspirin, she didn’t care. She just needed a pill. However, all her fingers could find was a smooth wooden surface. There was no box.

Yena suddenly looked up, half of her face hidden behind the curtain of her long blonde hair. There was her clock, about to ring the alarm at 9:03 a.m. There was her mobile phone, her elastic hair band, a few hairpins and… a glass full of water and a small plate with an assortment of pills next to it.

Yena narrowed her eyes. She could see iron, a set of vitamin B pills, and even a bar of dark brown food supplement. She bit her lip. Bastards… someone had been in her room while she was asleep, before the sun got up. She blinked.

Something was not right. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Bruno fast asleep in the middle of her bed, snuggled cosily in her duvet, totally ignoring her. That was strange. The cat would usually come to her room early in the morning and jump on her head to make her walk down the stairs to the kitchen and feed him. Someone obviously had fed the cat.

Yena carefully took a few deep sniffs of air to check if something else was wrong. If there was one sense she could trust, it was her sense of smell. Her room still smelled the same, but there was a kind of unfamiliar scent hovering all over the house and she didn’t like it.

Quickly swallowing the pills and gobbling down the bar of sweet supplement, Yena downed the glass of water in a few gulps and got up from her bed, snatching her warm terrycloth robe from her chair. The vampires sometimes would get the craziest ideas when they were bored, most of which they would try to exercise in her kitchen, and Yena loved her kitchen. Despite the fact that she didn’t like eating too much, she was very fond of cooking. Go figure.

Leaving Bruno to sleep in her bed and wrapping the robe tight around her, Yena stepped into her slippers and shuffled out of her room. Once she was out in the 1st floor corridor, she suddenly thought that perhaps she should try to be more discreet about finding the possible culprit. It was simple. She just had to check the rooms by employing the principle of elimination.

This smell that was obviously coming from downstairs was even stronger in the hall. Something was cooking. Literally. And even though vampires were rather intelligent beings, she didn’t find them compatible with cooking human food. Therefore, Yena decided to act fast.

She mulled over it for a second, and then she hunched and crept over to the first door, right next to the stairs to the attic and the bathroom. At first, Yena even considered knocking, but then again, it was daytime and it WAS HER house, so what the hell. She just turned the knob and pushed the door open.

Peeking in, she saw a dimmed-out room with the blinds and the curtains pulled down. The room had a west-side window, so it wasn’t hard to block the sun out. Wooyoung was lying splayed out on his bed totally blacked out, his right hand on his stomach. Sleeping. Or whatever they called that state of hibernating. Not even bothering to use a pillow or a duvet, the young vampire was sleeping in his black training joggers and a t-shirt, on a completely naked mattress. Save for the white bedsheet.

Yena cocked an eyebrow. Well, that was a progress. He would usually black out on the floor.

Ok. So, it was not Wooyoung to stir the mess in her kitchen. Not that Yena would have expected him to.

Checking out his hair and his legs for one last time, the owner of the house closed the door and gave it a thought. It wasn’t Wooyoung. It also wasn’t Chansung, because he was currently in Korea. Minjun also was out of the picture, staying in Glasgow at the moment. He was planning on taking the “kids” out to spend some time with their new allies during Christmas Eve, since Yena needed the house to be empty for a time being.

It was her turn to prepare the annual Christmas Eve family dinner, and she was expecting her mum to show up and help her with the cooking and Christmas decorations sometime around lunch. The vampires were supposed to be gone once the sun was down, before her family started gathering under her roof.

Yena shivered. She hated family dinners. Especially Christmas Eve family dinners. There would be kids running all around. She had to hide all of her lab equipment yesterday, and she made Junho pull out an old round table from the attic for the kids. No way was she having the spawns of her cousins at the main dinner table for the grown-ups, yelling and ordering their parents around. Equal rights and all that, but children were supposed to know their place, as far as Yena was concerned.

Moving towards the next door, Yena opened it without a second though. The room was dim and cluttered with her lab equipment for the time being. Junho was sleeping on his belly, hugging his pillow. She had to admit that the younglings were rather obedient.

“Nice ass,” Yena mumbled closing the door.

Biting her lower lip, she walked on feeling slightly nervous, as she approached the third door. Mahogany. She was still slightly bitter about the fact that this vampire had basically bullied her into changing the door, which now totally stood out against the general house décor, but sometimes even Yena would yield to his charms.

Gingerly turning the knob and pushing the door open just by a tiny fracture, she took a peek inside. Blinds, shutters, and black curtains made the room absolutely dark. The only thing that indicated it was occupied was a small blotch of silver where the bed was supposed to be.

Well, what would you know, Prince Khun was sleeping as well. In his satin sheets. Looking like an angel sent from above.

Yena snorted closing the door, yeah right. He was probably using the sunny day to recharge for whatever challenges this vampire Christmas in Glasgow might bring him. Arrogant as he was, Yena was pretty sure Khun had a softie side as well. He could be easily impressed or insulted. You just needed to know which buttons to push. To Yena’s mind, the person who knew all the Khun-buttons was Chansung. Definitely.

There was only one door left now. Yena marched towards it and ripped it open, concentrating onto the dim space. After two seconds, she slammed the door with a bang. Figures. Ok Taecyeon was not in the room.

Slowly exhaling through her nose, she cast a vexed glance towards the stairs and headed down. She had no other choice. The smell coming from the kitchen was only intensifying. Although it wasn’t exactly a stench per se, she still couldn’t make it out. As if something was mixed. Something that usually should not be mixed.

Going down the stairs, Yena was coming up with various insults in her head, thinking how she should deal with that giant nerd. Not that he was a giant. Keeping in mind her local standards, he was just slightly above average, but Yena was used to regular men either being as tall as her or barely reaching her shoulders. So, anyone she had to look up to in order to meet their eyes pretty much deserved her respect. In their case, that was Taec and Chansung. The others… Yena used to tell Bobby, she was like “a Junho minus half an inch and plus a few additional pounds.” The curse of being a tall female really.

She shook her head as she found herself in the living room and had to stop dead in her tracks, her mouth falling agape. There was a Christmas tree. A decorated Christmas tree in the corner of the room. Yena looked around slowly, quite scared to see what else there was in store for her.

The whole room was draped with Christmas decorations. Lights, colourful balls, socks, you name it. In fact, she was pretty sure the whole ground floor was adorned in this fashion. She almost flopped on her bum as she missed the last step of the staircase.

One of the reasons her mum was supposed to come was exactly this. The decoration of the house. Yena was not very much so inclined on doing this, but it was for the family dinner, and her mother loved decorating, so she had asked her mum to come and help her.

But now… everything was set to the tiniest details, all the way down to a bowl of nuts, and crowns made of fir and pine cones, stuck with the candles, and even small German nutcrackers on the table (Yena’s family had moved to the Isles after World War I from the Weimar, and they were still rather proud of their roots).

Yena didn’t know whether she should feel impressed or violated. But whatever answers she was going to find, they were surely in the kitchen, so she headed towards it, feeling slightly scared of what she might find in there.

The door to the kitchen was always kept open and now was no exception. The blinds and the curtains were pulled down to the fullest, making the kitchen quite dim. No human could’ve worked in such conditions. Yena hid behind the door frame and looked inside. Her mouth fell open.

The steam collector above the stove was working at its full capacity with all four heater parts of the stove currently occupied with pots and pans. There was also something baking in the oven. The steamer was plugged into the socket, fuming up as much as possible. The kitchen table was set with different sorts of Christmas meals, most of which, would have taken Yena and her mum more than a whole day to prepare. Yena blinked.

Taec was running around the kitchen in inhuman speed. From what Yena could tell, as it all seemed like a blur to her, he was now peeling and cutting a pear and adding it into what looked like… kimchi?

Yena glanced around the kitchen once again. Most of the food was surely for Christmas. But now she knew why she couldn’t distinguish the smells before: the kitchen was also full of distinctly Korean dishes, and when a Christmas cake odour mixes with Korean chilli it sure is hard to figure things out.

Her legs pulled her inside the room even before she could tell them so.

“What on earth?” she gasped.

Taec froze in the middle of sauce preparation. He blinked and looked around caught red-handed, figuring how he could cover his mischief. But there was actually no way one could cover a feast for approximately twenty people. He straightened up and Yena almost fell flat: he was wearing her mum’s apron. With a yellow chicken embroidered on it.

“Taec, what the hell?” Yena walked closer, expecting an explanation.

“Uuuh…” it seemed that the floor vibrated with his low voice. “I tried to help…”

“Help,” Yena pointed at the table, the counter, and the stove. “This is not help, it’s a United Nations humanitarian aid mission. What…” she was lost for words. “Since when do you cook?”

“I’ve always liked to cook,” he sounded somewhat hurt. “Grew up in my mum’s kitchen basically…”

“Yeah, but how can you tell the taste now?” Yena folded her arms across her chest.

“Umm,” he jumped up quickly, taking one plate from the table and shuffling towards her. “I usually count on my sense of smell, but now that you’re here, tell me what you think,” he offered her the plate with a sample of a cake in it. Yena stared.

“Stollen?” she gasped and looked up at Taec. “You baked a stollen?”

“Found a very good how-to on Naver,” he grinned. “Come on, try it,” he urged her, pointing at the slice that was already cut off from the main body of the cake.

Yena was somewhat doubtful, but she knew she had to try it, or else he would pout and nag at her for the rest of her life. Perhaps he would skip a day or two, but he would find a way to remind her how she didn’t eat the stollen he made.

Taking the slice of the pie, Yena took a small bite, slowly coating her tongue with the soft and sweet floury substance, chewing on the dried fruit inside. She tried really hard not to show it was good. Very good. And if he was good at baking stollen, he must’ve been good at cooking everything else. Well, shit. He just saved her half a day of work in the kitchen… and that kimchi he was making… but she couldn’t help but say:

“Kimchi for Christmas Eve?” her eyebrow shot up, as she was still munching on the sweet cake.

“Uh…” Taec put the plate with the cake away, swaying and hunching all along as if he was playing a role of some anime or manga character inside his head. Perhaps he thought it was cute. Yena found it ridiculous. And cute. “It’s for you,” he said wiping his hands into her mum’s apron.

“Sorry?” she was having a problem following because his arms with rolled-up sleeves looked like cocoa sticks against the white of the apron.

“I figured you wouldn’t be eating much for dinner, because of the stress and all,” he blinked, and she watched the lids of his deep-set eyes go down and then fold back up behind the fold.

Yena suddenly wished to film this and watch it in slow-motion over and over again. You freak~!! Her brain suggested. I know, she sighed inwardly and focused on the conversation again.

“It’s not much,” he said. “But there’s kimchi and rice, and bossam…”

“Bossam?” her eyes widened.

That explained the extensive scent of garlic. Yena licked her lips because she could feel they were still covered with the sugar powder from the cake.

“Uh… Yeah, I thought you liked… Korean… food?” he fumbled with his words because she missed a speck of snow-white powder right above her upper lip. He had to take care of that, otherwise it would’ve kept bothering and distracting him.

“I… do?” she confirmed slightly surprised at how Taec suddenly began looking around, as if he were lost and disoriented.

He needed tissues. There were none. He remembered using all of them to clean the pudding spill at around 4am. The towels were all smudgy and, he had used all the paper towels when Bruno had crept into the kitchen at 5am and spilt all the jams and creams onto the counter, yelling and shouting until Taec had finally filled his bowl with cat food.

Yena stood in silence as he flailed around, nothing but the sounds of the bubbling pots and the grease sizzling in the pan reaching her ears. Taec glanced down at his hands. Even though he had wiped them into his apron, there were still bits and pieces of chilli sauce here and there, and he knew that Yena found his hands somewhat repulsive (there he experienced another mental stab to his virtually dead heart, but Yena had her own kinks, what he could do), so using them was out of question.

He looked up at her, blinking. Yena was staring at him with a big question mark in her grey eyes. Taec pursed his lips and figured he could always use his vampire speed to escape if she decided to stake him. It was a bit problematic now as it was really sunny outside, but… he always looked at the bright side of life. No pun intended.

“Don’t move,” he said, resolution written all over his face.

“Huh?” Yena cocked one eyebrow.

“I’m sorry about this,” apologizing beforehand, Taec leaned closer and, catching Yena’s upper lip in between his own, he sucked the remnants of sugar powder away.

Yena’s eyes opened wide in astonishment. The fact that Taec kept his eyes open didn’t help at all. His face was too close. His eyes were too close. She wanted to grab a cotton bud and carefully poke around them, exploring it like they do it in those amazing documentaries.

He pulled away, his lips making a soft ‘pop’ sound as they parted. He was ready to scram now. Just in case she decided to attack him with a syringe. But he really hoped she would let him stay and finish cooking everything.

Neither dead nor alive, Yena swallowed a lump inside her throat and headed towards the stove without a single word, feeling like her legs were made of wood rather than flesh and blood. Leaning onto the counter, she stared at a bowl of salad, her mind absolutely blank.

She needed to be alone. She couldn’t face him, but there was no way she could win against a vampire. Her eyes wondered around, her brain working feverishly, lamenting the fact she had no power in her hands. Had she been stronger, she could’ve at least tried throwing a knife at him… her eyes stopped at the blinds cord, hanging next to the window frame.

She reached out before Taec could even put two and two, and react. Yena pulled down the cord, flooding the kitchen with dazzling sunlight as the sunrays penetrated even through thick curtains. Taec gasped and dashed out of the kitchen, hiding behind the door, away from the sunlight. Yena pulled the curtain open, too. One window done, there were two more windows shuttered at the other end of the kitchen.

“There were no tissues, I’m sorry,” he pouted shielding his eyes, feeling shivers running up and down his spine because the hall and the living room weren’t completely sun-proof either.

“Go sleep, Taec,” totally unfazed, Yena eyed the pots and pans on the stove, thinking she would be taking from here. It was almost done anyway. “You have a party tonight,” she said going to the rest of the windows.

“Oh, come on!” Taec stomped his foot onto the floor, pouting like a little kid. “You think I didn’t hear your heart beat like DUM DUM DUM? You liked it too!!”

Yena turned to look at him sharply and then she pulled at the last two cords with pleated blinds, while maintaining an eye contact with him. The kitchen was totally flooded with sunlight. Before Taec skedaddled upstairs to hide in the dark corners of his room, he caught a glimpse of Yena’s silhouette totally engulfed by the sunlight coming from the window behind her back.

 

 

***

 

_Seoul, present day_

 

There were too many people on the ground floor, and one could barely see through the cigarette smoke fog hovering above the tables. Not that it bothered them at all, but it was too crowded and too noisy even for a vampire.

“I sometimes wonder what it feels like breathing in this tobacco thing,” Emma mumbled quietly, fully aware that Chansung would hear her anyways. “It wasn’t there in my time…”

“Wasn’t there in mine either,” he said cautiously looking around and taking in careful sniffs. “But I’m glad. Less temptations, less trouble.”

Emma snorted looking up at Chansung, the top of her head barely reaching his shoulders.

“You’re the one to talk about temptation, Hwang Chansung,” she laughed, patting him on his chest.

Chansung looked down at the older vampire, giving her a warm smile and putting his hand on her back, gently pushing her towards the stairs on the left side.

“I think he’s upstairs,” he said leaning closer to her ear.

“I know,” she sniffed walking towards the stairs, allowing Chansung to lead her. “I can smell him.”

They took their time going up the stairs. They were so slow that they clearly weirded out the people walking behind them. Sometimes vampires would overdo when they tried to act human and do everything in human speed. But going upstairs was worth it because the top-floor of the bar was not as full as the ground floor. People were quietly sitting in their booths, mostly couples, and no one even batted an eyelash when Chansung with Emma entered the top-floor space through the arc.

The interior of the bar was dark and woody. Perhaps people found it authentic: a bar with wooden tables and chairs, and walls in the middle of Seoul. However, Emma and Chansung (out of sheer habit) looked around, wary of their surroundings, already calculating which wooden poles could be broken and made into weapons if there was a sudden ambush. On Christmas Eve. Well, one could never know.

A young boy behind the counter was about to ask if they wanted a table, but Chansung raised his hand indicating they were fine as they finally noticed Joon sitting at the back of the room, hunched over something above his table. Emma met Chansung’s eye, and they both smirked. She marched across the room first and flopped onto the wooden bench right across from Lee Joon.

“Hello Joonie~” she chirped, leaning her elbows onto the wooden table-top and then resting her chin on her hands.

Lee Joon, dressed in jeans and a white Christmas sweater, jumped in his seat almost spilling the Christmas fruit punch bowl, which he had been preoccupied with. He stared at her eyes wide open.

“Nuna,” he gasped. “You’re early.”

“British punctuality,” she fluttered her dark eyelashes.

“Erghh…”

“Hyung~” Chansung joined Emma on the bench, unbuttoning his black coat and flashing Joon a wide smile.

Joon stared. From Chansung to Emma, from Emma to Chansung, and then back to Emma again. He then sighed.

“Fine. Guilty. I acknowledge it,” he looked down as Emma snorted and Chansung laughed, raising his hand.

“High five,” he said.

She raised her hand to meet his, and they high-fived as Joon sat on his side of the table, feeling slightly miserable. He simply lucked out that he had arranged the two meetings so close to one another with the people he knew quite well.

He sighed once again, ruffling his brown-dyed hair and stabbing his spoon into the punch. Joon was one of those who could digest water, and the punch bowl was half full with ice cubes, so it was safe for him to slurp it from time to time, without the risk of throwing up. A vampire throwing up was not a sight for the faint of heart, mind you.

“But both of your issues are somewhat related, so I guess it’s not such a bad thing,” Joon shoved a spoonful of ice-cubes into his mouth and munched on them, making a few girls, who had been eyeing their table from time to time, shiver with cold. There’s nothing they could do really. Two handsome Koreans and a foreigner definitely caught everyone’s eye. Even though most of the customers were couples.

“Related?” Chansung frowned slightly, a crease forming in between his eyebrows.

Joon’s eyes shuffled back and forth, as he reconsidered what he should and shouldn’t say out loud because there were definitely people watching them and perhaps even eavesdropping on their conversation. Not that there were spies or anything, but… He coughed.

“ _Everything leads back to Joseon_ ,” Joon uttered in an old version of Korean, something he had been really fond of back in the times of the late Goryeo dynasty. Chansung blinked looking at his senior, not quite sure where he was getting to.

“Joseon?” Emma asked, quickly connecting the dots. “ _Do you mean North Korea, by any chance_?” she entered the conversation in a little bit accented yet clear Middle Korean.

Joon choked on an ice-cube. Not that it poised any danger to his life, but an ice-cube in your trachea was definitely not something comfortable.

“What?” she smirked. “Have you just conveniently forgotten I’d spent more than half a century in the early Joseon? How do you think I met this guy?” she pointed at Chansung. “Language has a tendency to stick in your head.”

“No, I knew you had lived in Joseon, just didn’t think much of the period,” Joon shook his head. “Half a century in the early Joseon…” he mumbled eyeing her suspiciously.

“Hyung?” Chansung finally joined the conversation, noting the look in Joon’s eyes. It felt like he has just seen her in a completely different light.

“Nothing,” Joon still kept his eyes Emma as if he’s finally realized something. “Anyway, as I understand, nuna’s here under the orders of Minjun-hyung’s fiancée to scout out the hunting grounds in Chagang Province.”

“Yes,” Emma nodded. “Old rich folks in the isles get bored easily, and if they can get it cheaper through Amber’s marriage, they will.”

“Alright,” Joon got serious and turned to Chansung. “Two days ago, a vampire named Khotan registered for the hunt in Chagang.”

“That’s him,” Chansung clenched his jaw. “He never bothers to hide his name really. Is he alone?”

“As far as I know he travels with two rather young vampires. Pre-venom young.”

“Children. Must be his new generation,” Chansung’s hands on the table curled into fists. Emma tentatively put her hand onto Chansung’s big fist, asking quietly:

“That’s Khun’s maker, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Chansung breathed.

“You know, we don’t need any trouble in that area,” Joon said eyeing Chansung intently because he knew that Chansung seldom got angry, but when he did get angry, it was better to stay out of his way. “It would be better if you could just meet the old guy and ask the hell is his problem.”

“That’s what I want to do,” Chansung put his other hand onto Emma’s, calmly rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. “Finally meet him face to face and ask what he really wants. We’ve been running into him and his progeny for centuries. Like clashing, drawing occasional blood, no questions asked… not that I regret what our clan has, but… It feels like he holds some kind of grudge against Khun,” Chansung sighed. “We really need to settle this once and for all.”

“Do you need anyone?” Joon asked. “The Northern provinces are under constant surveillance and the clients can’t breach the order, but… I mean… not that I doubt your skills…”

Chansung glanced to his right at Emma, something going back and forth between their eyes, and it all became too obvious to them even before anything could be said.

“I’ll go,” she said focusing on Joon. “I need to go to Chagang anyway. And it will save you from burdening your staff for additional tasks. I’m not the best old dog out there, but I suppose we should be quite alright, if we don’t provoke anything.”

“Alright,” Joon eyed the both of them, thinking whether it was a blessing or a curse that the two had met.

Not that he suspected there to be anything between them. But put two oldies with juvenile souls in one bowl, and you’d have a hell of a rollercoaster ride. Joon sighed.

“But contact me if anything goes wrong. I don’t need Minjun-hyung, this Amber lady, and the prince himself on my ass if you two get in trouble,” he said.

Chansung and Emma met each other’s eye and both merely grinned mischievously.

 

 

***

 

_Edo Japan, 1760s_

 

The interior of the room was entirely made of wood. Simple, light, elegant, and easy to demolish. Tearing down a house and building it anew was quite a common practice at the time.

There was a fireplace in the middle of an empty room. The fire was dying out, just red-hot coal glowing in the darkness, being the only source of light, as a cold wind roared outside. Everything that the occupants of the house needed was hidden behind the sliding doors or in the alcove at the end of the room.

Chansung sat on a tatami in front of the fireplace, his gaze focused on the coal. His black hair, usually tied up in a neat top-knot, was now dishevelled and fell all over the place. It stuck to his forehead, his nape, the longer strands reaching his shoulders. The strands were stuck in batches, framing his face in a grotesque yet elegant picture, as Chansung was very literally drenched in blood. There were traces of dried and still glistening blood on his neck, his hands, his feet. His clothes, that once were of a soft sandy colour, now looked dark brown.

His eyes left a glowing red stone and he focused on his left hand, as his wrist rested on his knee. He sometimes wished he could keep proofs of his fights on his body rather than his clothes. They were supposed to be thrown out anyway.

He sighed, rubbing his thumb into his forefinger, getting rid of the remains of vampire and human blood from his fingers. The gashes on his back and his cheeks, which had been so deep right after the fight, were almost closed by now.

He heard a sliding door open behind his back, and artificial light flooded the room. Chansung could suddenly see his own shadow loom over the fireplace, and there was another tall shadow standing right next to him. He approached very silently, as if trying not to disturb him.

Khun stood behind his back, dressed in a dark greyish blue yukata, his black hair short and thick, his dark brown eyes, which resembled two bottomless wells in the twilight, watching Chansung intently. The older vampire looked up and, seeing Khun’s serious and slightly worried face, he gave him a soft reassuring smile.

Getting up, he gave Khun his silver and steel alloy katana. The sword, usually shiny and glossy, was now covered in dried blood that looked like dirty rust. Khun looked at it as if the weight of the world slowly sank onto his shoulders, while Chansung quietly excused himself and walked away towards the steamy well-lit room that Khun had come from.

With his inhuman speed, it took Khun less than a minute to clean the sword. He slid it back into its sheath with respect and placed it down at the fireplace. He could hear nothing but the ghostly wind howling outside, the weakest links in the wooden walls of the house creaking whenever they were hit by a particularly strong wind gust.

Leaving the dark open room, Khun walked towards the light, past the sliding door, to join Chansung. The elder stood still with his gaze focused on nothing in particular. The room was brightly lit, with almost no shadows on the yellowish rice paper walls with wood frame in between. The whole space was steamy and hot, but wide enough for the steam to scatter around so that it wouldn’t linger one spot above two deep and broad soaking tubs, installed down below so that the brims of the tubs were at the wooden floor level.

The doors whooshed quietly as Khun slid them close and walked around Chansung to stand in front of him. He looked up at the older vampire taking in his messy face, and then looked down suddenly, as if he was not capable of withstanding Chansung’s glance. Khun was taking shallow sniffs of air: there was just too much blood. There was this expression on the youngling’s face that, just by looking at it; one could tell he was blaming himself for something. Chansung stood still.

Slowly, as if hesitating, Khun reached out and pulled at Chansung’s tattered sash, loosening his haori. Normally, the sides of the cloth should’ve hung loose at his sides, but now his upper garment was ripped in places and stuck to his body, drenched in dark blood.

Khun let the obi sash fall onto the floor slipping through his fingertips, as he raised both of his hands up and tucked his fingers under Chansung’s haori lapels, right next to his collarbones, slowly pushing the blood-drenched jacket off his shoulders. The garment rustled in protest of being discarded and then it flopped onto the floor like a dirty bag. Chansung stood half-naked.

Khun stopped taking sniffs altogether. It was just too much. Open wounds glistened on Chansung’s chest, his right shoulder, right in the middle of his deltoid muscle, and his left biceps. He could see they were closing, but at a very slow rate. Chansung must’ve lost a lot of blood, and his slow vampire metabolism couldn’t keep up. It pained him. Khun didn’t really understand why.

Although, come to think of it, he knew it. The imprint was very strong, and he could keep on telling himself it was all because of that. He could try and convince himself rationally that it was not a big issue, but… but being left alone in the house because they were too afraid for his safety... Sitting all alone in a corner and wriggling in pain when you feel the other person getting injured… When you can do nothing about the screams clawing their way out of your throat…

For Khun, it was not so much about the physical, but rather the mental pain, and he hated that. He hated not being in control. And he knew that with Chansung, he could never be. Chansung was older. Stronger. Khun was still a very young vampire without his own venom, and being a natural didn’t mean a thing in this case. What’s more, no matter how hard he tried, there was a part of him that felt extensively possessive of the older vampire. He blamed that on the imprint, too.

Placing his fingers around Chansung’s left upper arm, he ran his thumb around the edges of the wound, tentatively and carefully, as if testing unknown waters. The blood glistening there was Chansung’s, and Khun felt as if something coarse was dragged across his throat. He swallowed hard and looked up at the taller vampire again.

“May I?” he asked, his Korean still rather heavily accented although it’s been almost a century.

“I can lick my own wounds,” Chansung answered calmly. “Don’t worry about it.”

“But…” Khun pursed his lips. “Minjun-hyung mentioned once… as a natural… my saliva makes it heal faster,” he didn’t know if he was pushing it too far, but Chansung just eyed him once, his dark gaze betraying nothing but endless serenity, and looked away.

“Careful,” he said. Khun took it as a ‘yes.’

He started with the left upper arm first. Vampire’s ability to heal quickly coupled with the remedial qualities of the vampire saliva did wonders. By the time Khun’s tongue circled the top of the wound, the very bottom was already healed. Not even a tiny bit of scar tissue left.

Chansung looked to see, when Khun moved over to his right shoulder. He was careful not to graze Chansung’s skin with his fangs, and he savoured every single droplet of blood he came across on the open wound.

Sometimes Chansung thought Khun was an addict. Like a baby calf that did not want to be weaned off. But then again, perhaps it was also gratitude. He didn’t know. He could just feel there was nothing malignant in Khun’s actions. Perhaps there was a slight tinge of anxiety that Chansung had to address sometime later, but as of now, he watched Khun’s eyelashes flutter lightly against his cheeks, as he closed his eyes while working on Chansung’s shoulder.

There was only the wound on Chansung’s chest left. Khun swallowed everything he had gathered from the previous one and concentrated. For a second there, his ears made every single sound so sharp, he could hear the steam vapour coming up from the hot water in the tubs.

Obviously nervous and slightly awkward, Khun took a hold of Chansung’s left shoulder with his right hand, leaned down, and ran his tongue painstakingly slow bottom up and sideways over Chansung’s left pectoral. He could see the gooseflesh all over the older vampire’s skin. Vampires didn’t get cold.

Khun blinked, but forced himself to ignore it, focusing on the wound again. It was deep. It was also closing fast, so he had to do it once more and then it would be over. He leaned down again, the tip of his tongue touching the raw flesh, tasting it and healing it, and the higher he went, the stronger it hit his senses. At some point, the flavour on his tongue and the rough sensation at the back of his throat mixed together in his mind, and before he knew it, his fangs sank deep into the soft skin, his mouth flooding with Chansung’s blood.

Chansung furrowed his nose slightly, a quiet hiss escaping his mouth, but Khun pulled away before he could do anything about it. Dark brown eyes opened wide and his hand clamped over his mouth. Khun looked scared, apologetic, and disappointed with himself.

After the direct contact with a natural vampire saliva, the wound on Chansung’s chest closed immediately. Khun weighed down his head, wiping his lips and clenching his hands into tight fists, but Chansung merely patted him on his dark hair like a parent encouraging a child after a failure and took a step around Khun, walking closer to the tub on the left, unfastening his hakama.

“Throw them away,” he heard Chansung say when the trousers flopped onto the floor, and then there was slight splash when the progeny of the Hwang clan submerged into the hot tub.

Khun turned around. With just dirty clothes left scattered on the floor, Chansung was deep underwater, scraping off the traces of the fight.

Khun knelt down, gathering the ruined clothes into his hands, part of him wandering why he was so much inclined to do this. In his human years, he would have never listened to someone else’s orders. Well, that wasn’t really an order, but still. He would’ve never thought that one day he would be more than willing to deal with ragged and blood-drenched clothes.

By the time he returned with a new set of clean and white kimono, Chansung was already soaking in the other tub, all the dirt and blood gone from his hair and skin, his wounds closed and completely healed. His wet hair was finger-brushed backwards, and he sat with his head slightly reclined, his long arms spread comfortably above the brim of the tub on the wooden floor, half of his chest above the water, a thin wet sheen glistening in the artificial light.

Khun put the fresh set of clothes near the sliding door and walked around the edge of the tub, until he reached Chansung. Rolling up his wide sleeves above his elbows and his trousers above his knees, Khun sat down at the edge of the tub, framing Chansung on both sides with his long legs, so that Chansung’s arms were now resting on his thighs, his head basically in Khun’s lap. If it weren’t for Chansung’s long waist, it would’ve been rather uncomfortable, but now the depth of the tub and the level of Khun’s thighs were just enough for Chansung to rest his arms without any sign of discomfort.

Khun’s fingers carefully dug into the mess of Chansung’s wet black hair, his fingertips caressing slowly at the older vampire’s scalp. Chansung closed his eyes and swallowed down a sigh that was threatening to escape his chest. Hot water and the massage almost made him forget his hunger.

“I’m sorry,” Khun uttered quietly.

“For what?” Chansung mumbled deep in his throat.

“It’s all because of me,” strong fingers were gently drawing circles at the back of Chansung’s head. “You should’ve just let him take me out. Now Minjun-hyung might have problems with the local community…” he hushed when Chansung’s left hand shot up and grabbed his wrist, pulling it away from the older vampire’s head.

“Khun-ah,” he began and there was a distinct ring of serious frankness in his voice. “We’ve been through this already. He left you. He abandoned you. You’re not his. You’re a member of our pack. Don’t you ever doubt it. Ever,” he squeezed Khun’s wrist lightly.

“I don’t know what that old weasel is thinking, but one day we’ll get rid of him, so you can finally be at peace. And don’t worry about hyung. This incident will probably even help him make a few alliances with the locals. I bet even Jihoon-hyung might benefit from this in the long run. So, don’t you feel bad about what happened. You’re a family.”

Khun stared intently at the back of Chansung’s head, his jaw clenched tight. He could feel his vision getting blurry and rosy so he shook his head to hold back the blood-red tears.

“I will make sure hyung and you can live comfortably,” he declared. “I’m not too sure what to begin with, but for taking me in, I’ll make sure you never lack anything.”

“You don’t need to prove anything, we…”

“I want to,” Khun sounded agitated. “And I’m sorry,” he looked down again.

“Khun-ah…” Chansung heaved an exasperated sigh.

“No,” Khun’s fingertips lightly brushed against Chansung’s right shoulder. “I mean for that time… I’m sorry.”

Chansung stared at the surface of the perpetually steamy water, but all he could see was a flash of white, full moon, wild jungle, and dark brown eyes rimmed with thick eyelashes. He remembered it well. As if it’d happened yesterday.

“Don’t be,” he said. “I don’t regret having you with us,” his fingers rubbed Khun’s wrist again.

Despite the heat and fast healing, Khun couldn’t help but notice how pale Chansung’s skin was. Khun knew his own skin was remarkably fair, but now Chansung looked ten times paler. With their hands one against another, Khun looked almost like he had a tan. He frowned.

“You’re hungry,” he pointed out.

“That cannot be helped,” Chansung agreed calmly, being a complete embodiment of zen.

“Take me,” Khun offered.

Chansung reclined his head back to the point he could meet Khun’s eyes, albeit upside down.

“I’m old enough to go a week or two without a feed and don’t crash after a fight,” he said. “Don’t push yourself. What exactly are you trying to prove?”

“Nothing,” Khun looked away frustrated, biting hard on his lips, feeling absolutely useless. He didn’t even notice how he drew blood, small trickles of dark red going down the corners of his mouth.

Chansung frowned, a distinct crease forming in between his eyebrows. Without a single warning, he turned around in a flash and grabbed Khun at his haori, pulling him into the tub. Before the young vampire knew it, he was standing almost waist-deep in hot water with Chansung towering above him all dripping wet. He was so surprised he almost choked on his own blood.

“You’re one stubborn specimen,” Chansung’s eyes darted back and forth Khun’s brown orbs, as the younger one felt the lower part of his kimono getting heavier and heavier with all the water it absorbed.

Chansung was still frowning when he cupped Khun’s face in his big hands.

“Never waste your blood,  _ever_ ,” he stressed looking Khun directly in the eye. “You have no idea how important the imprints you carry are. How special you are,” his big eyes narrowed. “And don’t complain later,” with that Chansung leaned closer, the tip of his tongue licking the traces of blood from the corners of Khun’s mouth.

The younger vampire stared; he thought he could hear his dead heart start moving again. There was something in the way Chansung held himself, something in the way he did it that told Khun the elder knew exactly the impact he was making. Khun felt slightly manipulated, but he was too shocked to move and make him stop when Chansung leaned even closer locking Khun’s lower lip in between his and sucking the blood away.

Khun didn’t know what to do with his hands. His right one clenched into a fist and his left one grabbed onto Chansung’s wrist as his grip on Khun’s face became even tighter. His lips rammed fully into Khun’s, his tongue almost forcefully making the younger one open his mouth.

Khun groaned quietly unable to resist the sheer strength, and Chansung easily licked into his mouth, slotting their lips together. Chansung’s tongue roamed freely inside, collecting the last traces of blood, running back and forth against his fangs. Khun’s hold on Chansung’s wrist grew stronger, his knuckles turning absolutely white.

Chansung pulled back suddenly, quite sure he’s made it clean, rolling his tongue inside his mouth, contemplating the taste. Khun stood frozen, nonplussed, his eyes as big as they could ever get, and in a split of a second, he knew exactly what was coming next.

Chansung merely smirked baring his fangs, grabbed a hold of Khun’s haori and pulled it down exposing his pale collarbone. Before any other word of caution could be spoken, he sank his fangs deep into Khun’s neck.

Gasping and frowning at the pain, but also feeling peculiarly accomplished, Khun hugged Chansung, his claws digging into his naked back, searching for support, waiting patiently and obediently for the elder to satisfy his thirst.

 

 

***

 

_Edinburgh, present day_

 

Junho opened his eyes the moment the sun went down. The inner clock was amazing. He didn’t even need an alarm, although he had it connected with the blinds, and after one single beep, they went up, baring the window.

The room got a little bit brighter, even though the dark curtains were still drawn. Junho blinked as his mind slowly kicked in after a forceful hibernation. His face was crushed into his pillow. He had been sleeping on his belly again.

Rolling towards the edge of his bed, Junho got up on his feet and glanced into the big mirror on his wardrobe at the end of the room. The general conviction that vampires didn’t reflect on mirrors was a total bullshit.

In fact, Junho walked closer eyeing himself up and down; vampires must’ve loved mirrors, because they could never do them dirty. Even now, as Junho leaned closer running his hand through his brown-dyed hair, after a few hours of sleep, he still looked like he’d just stepped out of a fashion magazine photoshoot. At least his hair did. His clothes were a lot simpler, just a black t-shirt and black joggers. But one had to make himself comfortable when sleeping.

Opening his wardrobe, Junho scanned its contents, thinking what he should wear for this vampire Christmas party they were going to. He had no idea what vampires did during parties.

Well for one, he hoped there were no orgies. Not that he wouldn’t like to participate in one at least once in his lifetime, but definitely not on Christmas Eve. The zeal Korean Christian in him was still alive and kicking.

Reaching out for a white dress shirt his hand froze midway because he finally noticed the unpleasant sensation at the back of his throat. Junho looked up his eyes wide. He was hungry. He had been so busy helping Yena carry all the equipment into his room yesterday, and then dragging out an old table from the attic, that he had forgotten to feed.

He knew he would have to be ready for this, but he hadn’t been desperately hungry at the time, so he held it in. But now it was a totally different story.

Junho closed the wardrobe door, carefully making his way around various pieces of Yena’s lab equipment on his floor. He couldn’t feed while wearing a suit and a dress shirt. He’d get messy.

Junho stood in the middle of the room, wondering if he could go feed in the first place. With Chansung gone to Korea, he wasn’t sure he could. The kid was getting increasingly better at controlling himself, but as to go as far as hunt alone… Well, a few months ago Junho would’ve gladly explored such opportunity, but now he felt responsible for maintaining the coven’s “face” and he didn’t want to get into trouble. Whether they liked it or not, whether he planned for it (which he did not obviously), he was part of this slightly dysfunctional family now, and he had to obey the rules.

But he was still hungry. If there was any way he could reign in this hunger at least a little bit until Chansung was back… Junho blinked.

“Why of course,” he mumbled walking towards the door, opening it, and leaving his room in a jiffy.

Jogging towards the door next to the stairs to the attic, he opened it after a quick knock. The room was brighter than his with the blinds and the curtains drawn open, soft evening twilight seeping in, brightened by the heaps of snow outside.

Wooyoung was sitting at his desk beside the window, staring intently at his laptop, his knuckles rammed into his mouth. He already had black suit pants and a white dress shirt on, albeit the latter wasn’t buttoned up properly yet. A black tie hung messily around his shoulders. He looked back over his shoulder to see Junho come in, and then focused on his laptop again.

“O~,” he greeted.

“Hey,” Junho raised his hand. “Getting ready?”

“More or less,” Wooyoung shrugged.

The light flashing from the laptop screen seemed familiar, and Junho narrowed his eyes, frowning slightly. Hands in his pockets, he walked around the bed, approaching Wooyoung, who was totally confused on the laptop, from behind.

“What are you watching?” he asked now standing on Wooyoung’s left.

He knew the answer before the other one could even say it out loud. The laptop display was divided into four separate screen frames, each having a date and the time stamp of when the video was filmed, the view on the screen almost greenish grey. It was a CCTV record. From the Daegu Metropolitan Police precinct morgue. Junho heaved a tired sigh.

“Why are you watching this again?” he asked.

He could see himself and Wooyoung in the record, each in the two top screens. Lying half-covered with white cloth, obviously dead. Although not quite, but no one could tell the difference.

Then the remaining two small screens were full of suffering faces. Their families. Junho’s mother was totally struck with grief and disbelief, weeping and sobbing at her son’s body, with his father and older sister also shedding tears, hugging each other, their pained expressions hard to be mistaken for anything else. The record was silent, but there was no need for an audio because Junho could tell his family took his death really hard.

Wooyoung’s screen was a lot calmer. Their pain was just as crushing, but they processed it differently. They didn’t sob or weep out loud. His mother was stroking gently at her son’s cold cheek, with his father clutching desperately at the white cloth. His sister stood a bit farther from the rest, her left hand clenched into a tight fist, her right clamping over her mouth, her whole body shaking like an asp leaf. She obviously couldn’t believe her eyes.

Taecyeon had copied and showed them the CCTV record almost right after both of them woke; after they had got their first packs of donor blood, and before they got into the usual new-born rebellious state of I-want-to-see-my-family-one-last-time.

They had to understand that their families considered them gone. Dead. Taecyeon then pointed out that they were lucky their families were at ease after having seen them for the very last time. Most of the vampires didn’t get that kind of treatment. Perhaps it weren’t their bodies that their families had buried, but at least their memory was locked safe within their hearts.

Junho never had any intention of visiting his family again. His mother’s tears were enough to erase that kind of flimsy and wistful thought for good. He was dead to them. And if he were to appear in front of them out of nowhere…

He would have to explain things, and forgetting for a while the possibility that they wouldn’t believe him or take him for a devil’s spawn, his family would have to experience his death all over again, as he would not be able to stay. Junho could never do that. He was better off in Europe, knowing his family was safe and sound.

The new addition to the coven was probably the main reason the whole gang has left Korea for the time being. They couldn’t risk the two babies accidentally running into familiar people when everyone thought them dead.

It kind of pained Junho to think he’d have to stay at this side of the world until the people he’s known in his humans years died or got old enough to forget him, but it was for the best. What he couldn’t understand though, was why Wooyoung was torturing himself re-watching the tape over and over again.

“I don’t know,” he answered and brought Junho back to reality. “It feels almost like… like it wasn’t a clean cut. Like the past is still haunting me.”

“You’re not planning on paying them a visit, are you?” Junho asked suspiciously.

“No,” Wooyoung shook his head, stopping the video and shutting down his laptop. “At least not all of them.”

“Not all…” Junho blinked. “You do realize you can’t do anything rash, do you? Not until you’re under their custody.”

“But I don’t have any imprint, so technically, I’m free to go wherever I want,” Wooyoung argued, proving his vampire law lessons with Taec did not go to waste. “They can’t…” he halted. “Oh, they can,” he grumbled taking a glance at his right palm as if reminiscing, puffing out his cheeks and sighing eventually.

“They can what?” Junho frowned not quite following him.

“Track me down,” Wooyoung explained. “Chansung had a bite of me.”

“Speaking of bites,” Junho ruffled his hair as Wooyoung closed his laptop and got up from his chair, buttoning up his shirt. “Do you happen to have anything left in your veggie stock? Chansung’s out of the picture, and I don’t think I could handle a solo hunt yet…”

Wooyoung’s fingers halted at the second button from the top. He looked up at Junho, his face slightly worried.

“Oh, shit man, sorry, I pigged myself out yesterday, knowing we’d be going to this party thing,” he sounded apologetic, although his brain cogwheels worked hard. “And I don’t think it’s possible to get any on Christmas Eve… can’t ask Yena-nuna too, she’s busy… maybe…” he seemed hesitant. “Maybe there’d be some at that party?”

“Man, this sucks,” Junho sighed sitting down on the bed covered with a single white sheet. “I’d go and hunt, but without Chansung…”

“Chansung isn’t the only vampire in the house,” he was cut off by a smooth familiar voice.

Wooyoung froze in the middle of trimming his shirt’s collar and turned his whole body towards the sound source, just to see Khun leaning on his door. He was already pampered and dressed in a black suit, arms folded across his chest, watching the two vampire babies intently. Wooyoung clicked his tongue, now tying up his tie.

“Don’t you ever knock?”

“The door was open,” Khun pointed out. Wooyoung cast a fleeting glance at Junho.

“Sorry?” Junho pulled an apologetic grin.

“Come on,” Khun motioned with his head, pointing towards the hall, his eyes solely on Junho.

“Where to?” the kid asked confused.

“Hunt,” Khun was nothing but business. “Chansung’s orders. I can’t let you starve,” he said and left the room just as suddenly as he had appeared.

Junho met Wooyoung’s eyes and got up from the bed. Wooyoung grabbed his suit’s jacket from the backrest of his chair.

“Wait up,” he said slinging the jacket on in a hurry. “I’m coming with you.”

“What for?” Junho blinked.

“I don’t trust him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> We're kind of finally rolling into the main highway.  
> Let's hope I'll be able to keep my foot on the accelerator until the very end.
> 
> Thank you for your continuous kudos and subscriptions! It helps me know that there are people visiting this page <3
> 
> See you next week ^^


	6. #6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🔷 Junho and Wooyoung get to know Nichkhun better.  
> 🔷 Chansung gets to know Emma better (?).  
> 🔷 Minjun and Amber throw a party.

_Edinburgh, present day_

 

No one had expected it to snow this much. Perhaps, for the first time in 20 years, Christmas lights all over the city matched well with tons of snow on the streets and the frost on the trees. They were saying it was the coldest and the snowiest winter in 50 years, and as far as the meteorologists were concerned, they were forecasting that in a long run, the winters would get only colder. Climate change, ladies and gentlemen.

Standing a top of an old building in the New Town, Junho was looking down at a dead-end alley, thinking, why it always had to be alleys. Well, perhaps because people usually found them creepy or scary, and they were deserted most of the time, save for the very stereotypical members of the bottom-tier society.

Even now, in the midst of mashed-up snow, grey walls, and a pile of carton boxes, there was someone. Junho narrowed his eyes. It was a young man, no older than 30. He looked too healthy to be a beggar, but there he was, crouching against the wall and blowing hot breath onto his frozen hands on the Christmas Eve.

“John McKenna,” Khun said standing next to Junho, watching the man as well. “32 years old. Single. Both parents deceased. No siblings. Has been recently laid off, wrote a suicide note on his social media around 3 hours ago.”

Wooyoung, having been watching the cloudless sky instead of checking out the grotesque scene down below, turned to look at the elder vampire. Khun and Junho were standing at the very edge of the roof, while Wooyoung kept his distance. Not that he disagreed with the general opinion that vampires were supposed to feed on humans. He merely didn’t have enough confidence that he wouldn’t flip if he saw someone feeding face to face.

“You sure take your research seriously,” Junho blinked, almost staring at Khun in awe.

“This century is troublesome,” Khun explained. “Humans are more connected than ever, so if you’re going for a kill, it’s better to go for someone who will be missed… less.”

“Kill?” Junho’s eyes widened and Khun focused on him intently.

“I always try go for a total drain if I feed directly on a person, if I can. One of the reasons I never feed of humans I know, unless there’s no other way,” he explained serious. “I don’t know what Chansung taught you, but this is how I roll. It’s all or nothing.”

“But…” Junho shivered at the prospect of killing someone. He sure hadn’t cared too much about it right after he’d been turned: he’d wanted to drain a person dry every single time he got an opportunity to feed of a human being. Yet now, as he’s finally got some of his common sense back, he really didn’t look forward it.

“Shouldn’t we just direct him to some counselling or something…”

“I’m not a charity, Lee Junho,” Khun said. “Everyone has their own demons,” he looked down. “And sometimes those demons win.”

“I just don’t think I can watch him suffer…”

“Well, that’s why you have to break his neck first,” Khun suggested simply.

Wooyoung frowned looking at the back of the Thai’s head. He had to admit that it sounded somewhat captivating, the way he talked about such things, without pathos, as if he was talking about typing and printing out a document. Khun seemed to have absolutely accepted what he was, and what he had to do to survive.

“Is it ok to drink blood from dead people?” Junho asked hesitantly.

“You’ve watched too many movies,” Khun smirked. “You drink the donated blood, right? So how is this any different?

“It’s not a piece of carrion. It’s a prey you’ve just done away with. With the nape broken, the heart still beats for a while, and if you are fast enough, you drain down a rather decent amount of fresh blood,” he explained. “Lions kill their prey before the feast as well, don’t they?” Khun cocked his eyebrow.

“Well, I…”

“You’re hungry, and we have to be in Glasgow in an hour,” Khun cut him off. “So, either you go down and drain him, or I’ll bring him up here and prepare everything for you.”

“What… what about you?” Junho asked confused.

“I’m old enough to go without a decent feed for a month, especially as I tend to go for a full drain. If anything, I can nibble off someone at the party, no big deal.”

“So, the older you are...?” Junho put two and two together and Khun nodded, folding his arms across his chest.

“The less blood you need to survive. Minjun-hyung can take as much as a sip, and he’s done for months.”

They stood on the roof in silence as no one had anything else to say, both vampire babies lost in their thoughts of how disturbing it was to kill someone and how disappointing it was that in order to reach the state where one would find a sip of blood enough to carry on, one had to live through centuries and centuries of insatiable blood thirst.

“Oh, for the love of…” Khun rolled his eyes and soared off the roof only to reappear half a second later holding the man, a lot taller than himself, at the nape.

The man was obviously disoriented and too surprised to be scared.

“A personal demonstration,” he said looking directly at Junho. “The one and only, so you better pay attention,” locking the man’s neck in his strong arms, one hand on his head, Khun pressed a little bit harder and Junho and Wooyoung both heard a very distinct “crack.”

Khun let go and the man flopped onto the roof limp and heavy like a big sack of potatoes. Khun wiped the snow away from his jacket, grabbing the backpack he’d brought along, unzipping it, and pulling out a big black plastic bag.

“Is that the bag they use for corpses in morgues?” Junho couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Dig in,” Khun urged him. “We don’t have all night.”

Junho looked down at the man, who was still warm, and although he felt sick to his stomach that it had to go down to this, the hunger won in the end. Wooyoung looked away.

He couldn’t clamp his ears, and so he could still hear everything, but he walked away from the two and the dead man, approaching the other edge of the roof, staring down at another alley.

Wooyoung frowned, why would people spend the Christmas Eve in allies? Not to mention couples. There were places far better than that for a romantic date and dinner. Wooyoung almost snorted. Dinner. Oh, the irony of fate. He was about to look away, when the couple down below got a bit suspicious. Especially in the way the woman was trying to break loose, and the man wouldn’t let her go.

Something flashed and Wooyoung knew it was a knife. The woman screamed. Wooyoung clenched his jaw.

“Do it,” Khun appeared out of nowhere on his right.

“Do what?” Wooyoung asked although he could swear, he could guess what Khun was proposing.

“The attacker,” Khun turned left to look at Wooyoung and then gazed down at the couple again. “Drain him. A little.”

Wooyoung stared at Khun as if he were out of his mind. The youngling sure wanted to stop the mugging or rape or whatever that was about to take place down there, but to go as far as drain the offender… even if he wanted to, there was no way he could…

“Not a good idea,” Wooyoung noted.

“Just do it,” Khun insisted.

“Not a good idea, hyung,” Junho answered from the back.

Khun glanced over his shoulder. His other youngling was only half-way done, but he had a mind sane enough to stop in the midst of draining and voice out his opinion about the situation at hand. Khun was almost impressed. At 6 months of vampire age, Lee Junho was almost perfect at controlling himself.

“Wooyoung is good and all, but if you let him drain someone, it might get messy. A lot.”

“That’s why I’m here,” Khun was confident. He looked at Wooyoung again. “Do it,” the screams from down below only intensified.

“Junho’s right, I really don’t think…”

“Just do it!” Khun ordered, his brown chocolate eyes burning with something deep and indescribable. Wooyoung pursed his lips.

“Whatever. But I’ll hold you responsible for whatever stupid shit I’ll commit down there,” and he jumped.

The woman in her early 30s was about to choke on her saliva, as the mugger’s right hand gripped her neck tight, and his left one roamed around her purse. She was sure the money wasn’t the only thing he was going for. Even in the midst of panic, her brain still managed to find the irony in everything happening on Christmas Eve. She was about to lose hope and stop screaming, when suddenly the grasp on her neck loosened and eventually disappeared completely.

She coughed and stumbled back, snatching at her neck, tears running down her cheeks. It was so cold she could almost feel her tears instantly freeze on her skin. Catching up her breath, she looked up to see her assailant held tight in a headlock by a young Asian boy. He was shorter than the mugger, his eyes barely visible behind the older man’s shoulder, not to mention they were almost covered by long black bangs, but there was something in those eyes that made a cold chill ripple down her spine. Those eyes were scarier than the assault itself.

“Run,” the boy ordered. The woman hiccoughed, snatched at her purse, and disappeared from the alley as fast as she could.

“Motherfucking chink!” the man roared, squirming and trying to free himself from Wooyoung’s grip.

“I’m Korean,” Wooyoung corrected and as the man looked back, meeting his eyes, the boy grinned fiendishly. “Merry Christmas,” he wished pulling back the man’s jacket and shirt, and he bit.

The man screamed the second Junho finished feeding and he joined the Thai at the edge of the roof, to see Wooyoung draining a person as furiously as if he had been starving for a century.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Junho noted wiping his lips, feeling fuller than ever. “You weren’t there when Taecyeon and Chansung-hyung tried to teach us how to feed the first few times. They both could barely rip him off the umm… volunteer.”

“Put the body into the bag,” Khun told Junho calmly. Junho stared at him silently, thinking that sometimes talking to this hyung felt like talking to a wall. Shrugging, Junho went back to deal with the body. Khun soared off the roof down into the alley.

The man was unconscious already, Wooyoung still sucking him dry, holding the body tight with no intention of letting go. Seeing Khun coming closer, he pulled back with his prey, his brain registering not the crazy Thai hyung, but a rival.

“Alright,” Khun said. “That’s enough. Don’t kill him, we don’t need two bodies in one night,” he walked closer. Wooyoung growled angry somewhere deep in his throat, his claws digging deeper into the man’s body. He was like a dog guarding his bone, eyes cautious and intense.

“I said enough,” Khun took another menacing step closer. Wooyoung growled louder. “Oh so, we’re all high and mighty with our words, but when it comes to self-control, you’re suddenly down to the bottom, huh?” Khun walked real close and basically ripped the man out of Wooyoung’s grasp. It was like ripping a prey out of the lion’s jaws. The young vampire had such a firm grip on him with his fangs that part of the man’s neck tissue remained clenched in his mouth, blood dripping all over his chin.

Wooyoung’s eyes narrowed and something clicked in mind, his vision focusing on nothing but Khun, the one who took the food away from him. Growling menacingly, the youngling lunged at the senior, so fast Khun had to let go of the man in order to block the attack.

Wooyoung was panting heavily. After a short scuffle, when his body began absorbing the blood he’d just consumed, his muscles burst with a sudden force and he pushed Khun to the wall, almost denting one or two bricks. Khun hissed frowning, not so much at the pain, but at the fact his suit was now definitely ruined: Wooyoung was all drenched in blood, his white dress shirt was now red, and drops and pieces of that clearly splashed on Khun’s outfit as well.

Wooyoung was furious. He rammed his forearm into Khun’s neck.

“This is what happens when you people force me to do shit,” he swung back his arm, his hand clenched in a fist, clearly ready to punch Khun with all he had. “You motherfucking piece of…”

Wooyoung was cut off by a sudden blow in his liver area, and before he knew it, Khun was free and it was Wooyoung now propped against the wall, with Junho’s big right hand clutching at his neck, his left one clenched into a fist, knuckles so white the skin might’ve popped with the tension. One more second and he would’ve knocked Wooyoung out, but he suddenly blinked coming back to his senses.

He let go of his flustered and heavily panting friend and Wooyoung collapsed against the wall. Junho stared at his hands in disbelief.

“Shit,” he gasped and glanced sharply at Khun. “Why did I feel a sudden urge to protect you?”

“Blood call,” Khun stretched his neck to the left and to the right. “Imprint wise… we’re brothers,” he said pulling out his mobile phone.

“Oh…” Junho digested the new piece of information, helping Wooyoung get up.

His twin maker-wise looked totally messed-up. His clothes were a mess, his hair, his face. Junho was pretty sure so was his mind as well. In a way, he figured Khun was a bit too hard and inconsiderate of Wooyoung, but at the same time he managed to accomplish something everyone’s been striving to do for months: make Wooyoung get a decent feed. Well, to be more exact, he’ll be able to get a decent feed when he learns to control himself.

“I need an ambulance,” Khun said into his phone. “Yes, the same place, just different alleyway. And when you bring the car, bring three sets of suits as well,” he ordered. “Yes, same as always,” he ended the conversation eyeing the man on the ground in a pool of blood. “It doesn’t look like it, but he’ll live,” he assured and eyed both younglings. “Come on, we’ve gotta go. One more thing left to do.”

“Where to now?” Junho asked, Wooyoung resting on his shoulder.

“Cemetery.”

 

***

 

Junho stood barefoot in the snow, wearing nothing but black joggers and a ragged t-shirt all drenched in blood, but didn’t feel the cold seeping into the outer layers of his skin. Vapour didn’t escape his mouth. He watched the man, whose blood decorated his clothes, being slowly lowered into a coffin from the black plastic bag, then the coffin being sealed and lowered carefully into a 6-foot-deep pit at the edge of the cemetery outside the city.

Khun did everything on his own. Wooyoung sat next to Junho slightly dumbfounded and the more so perplexed, watching Khun take the shovel and fill the hole with cold winter earth, burying the person he had given to Junho to drain. There was even a plate with his name on it. And a cross. Everything looked neat and decent; the younglings just couldn’t fathom it.

“You planned everything, didn’t you?” Junho asked as Khun was quickly filling up the hole in vampire speed. “Even up to this moment.”

“I always do this if I can,” Khun finished shovelling and covered the grave in floral tributes that had been waiting to be used, stacked on the edge of the pit. What was left was to light up a few candles. “This is more than society could’ve given him at the very end,” pulling out a lighter from his pocket, he lit up two big candlesticks, right when a black limousine rolled into the graveyard, halting into a stop some twenty metres away from the grave.

“I don’t…” Junho shook his head, unable to grasp it all.

“Humans are the prey, and we are the predators,” Khun stood looking at the grave. “We feed on them, we hunt them, it might take nothing for me to take a human life…” he looked left at the two younglings. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t respect them. After all, we were all humans once. Just like a hunter takes care of deer in winter, I have to have respect for my prey because I am more powerful, and for this power, I have to take responsibility,” he looked at the plate again. “The prey is helpless against the predator, but without the prey, the predator would not be able to exist.”

Wooyoung hugged his knees putting his chin onto them.

“Anyone knows a good prayer?” Khun asked suddenly. “I’ve never really bothered to read a Bible…”

“I’m a Buddhist,” Wooyoung grumbled, one could think he was close to tears.

Junho sighed and in the midst of white snow, caught in the headlights of the Rolls-Royce at the edge of the cemetery, wearing nothing but joggers and a t-shirt, he recited a prayer for the man he’d just drained.

 

 

_Chagang Province, North Korea_

 

The snowstorm and icy wind were no joke. Not that it poised any threat to one’s health, but no matter how strong the senses were, the force of nature did meddle with them. Chansung narrowed his eyes standing on the edge of a mountain somewhere in the south of the Chagang Province.

He had a thick black scarf rolled around his shoulders, his neck, and all way up to his nose. Not that he was cold; he just didn’t like the sensation of snowflakes melting on his skin. True to his freaky nature, he was one of the few vampires, who had a body temperature slightly higher than the average. High enough to make the snowflakes melt at the touch with his skin.

Chansung looked back when the strong gust of wind blew the scent straight into his nostrils. He’d been waiting just for an hour; he thought it would take longer, but even through the curtain of drizzly snow he could see a small figure jump fast from a peak to a peak, and he raised his hand up high waving heavily at her, hoping she would be quick to see him.

The figure soared nimbly through the mountain slopes, then it changed its course and rushed straight towards Chansung. In less than a minute, Emma landed in front of him, half of her face covered in snow. She was wearing simple jeans, trainers, and a hoodie: a total suicide for a human in such weather conditions, but nothing special for a vampire. She had chosen the outfit because it allowed her to move faster than heels and a long coat.

“Hey!” she exclaimed over the storm. “Sorry, did you wait long?”

“Less than I’ve expected,” Chan answered. “Found anything interesting?”

“The grounds here are just perfect!” she beamed. “Ravines, trenches, mountains, caves. And the best part is that humans do travel around here from time to time. These old farts will be thrilled.”

“Old farts,” Chan snorted. “Some of them are younger than you!”

“Well,” Emma knocked her fist into her chest with a hollow _thump_. “I’m still young to the core of my dead heart,” Chansung giggled. “Found where that Khotan guy is hunting?” she asked.

“Yes,” he nodded getting serious and pointing towards the direction opposite from where Emma had come from. “Around 4 or 5 kilometres from here, I haven’t tried contacting them yet though… just like Joon said, he has two young vampires with him, around Taec’s age.”

“Well then, we should pay him a visit,” Emma patted Chansung on the back. “And don’t forget to watch your temper, you know, old farts like him are very old fashioned and usually nuts.”

“Roger,” Chansung nodded. “You know about the issue, but I guess I’ll brief you once more on the way.”

“Sure,” Emma nodded. “Let’s go,” and they jumped off the cliff.

Having crossed the North Korean border from the Chinese side as a British newlywed couple, Chansung and Emma had gone on their separate ways with a promise to meet at a specific point in Chagang. Emma scouted the hunting grounds for the interested British vampires and Chansung searched the southern parts of the province looking for the trace of the scent he knew so well he could get sick to his stomach each time he sensed it.

Khun’s maker was a very old vampire. Not as old as the late Master Hudun, but Chansung was sure he was older than their hyung who reigned as the Korean Prince Taejo. And Jihoon-hyung was already a very much so respected noble vampire at the grand age of two thousand and thirty (give or take a decade or two).

No one really knew where Khun’s maker was from. Some believed he hailed from the nomadic tribes that lived along the ancient Silk Road thousands of years ago. Some thought he was from Central Asia, some said he belonged to the Iranian peoples who had lived in the Tarim Basin. It was that hard to pinpoint his age and his background.

But he was old enough for almost every other vampire to have heard of him at one point of their lives, especially if they were several centuries old. He’s obviously loved travelling a lot since the early ages, as he found himself in Thailand or the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 17th century.

Ever since he had left the new-born Nichikhun to fend for himself, he never really raised a claim to him, but whenever this Khotan vampire and Minjun’s coven would run into each other, it would start with Khun falling terribly ill, and then the inevitable bloody clash.

Chansung wanted to know why. Why this vampire still held so much power over Khun despite the fact he didn’t have the imprint, and why Khotan would always appear close to them at least once a century, as if checking up on them.

He must’ve been feeling rather bitter towards the coven though, Chansung thought. He jumped from one slope to another following after Emma, as she had less trouble making it through the storm because she was smaller. Throughout the centuries, Minjun’s coven had eliminated from four to five vampires with each clash, all Khun’s “siblings.” They did so to protect Khun, but who knew what kind of grudge could the old vampire hold against the slayers of his progeny.

Emma halted abruptly without a single warning, and Chansung almost crashed into her, but he managed to stop just in time to see a long silver sword pointed at his friend. Khotan must’ve moved out of his camp while Chansung had been waiting for Emma. They ran into them a lot faster than he’d expected.

A young male vampire, who looked like his native land was somewhere in the middle of Saharan sands, stood straight, pointing the tip of his sword at Emma. Behind his back, there was a tall figure that looked taller than Chansung. The figure was clad in a black robe with a hood on its head, and there was another young female vampire holding onto the figure’s forearm, as if leading it.

“We seek no harm,” Emma uttered. She used English because hell if she knew what language this Khotan guy spoke.

“O-ho…” the tall dark figure raised its head and as its hood fell back a little bit, they both could see a face that looked like it was carved out of marble.

The vampire was thin with dark eyes and dark hair, and sharp facial features. One could’ve thought all the ancient statues had been carved after him.

“But you sure have come prepared,” he angled his head to the left, looking at Chansung who stood behind Emma’s back. “Although I am sure this young man behind you might as well wish me harm. Haven’t we met before? Japan… perhaps?” he smiled. Chansung frowned, a crease forming between his eyebrows.

“We just want to talk,” he said in Korean, not bothering with the formalities.

“Well, perhaps I don’t feel inclined to talk to you,” he still sounded pleasant although Chansung felt as if he was being lashed with a snake’s tongue, the old vampire’s presence rolling out of the tall body in sickeningly strong waves. “And I have a good reason for it.”

“Then would you please talk to me?” Emma still talked in English, sounding very polite. “We just have a few questions, that’s all. Please?”

Khotan concentrated on her, his nostrils flaring hungrily, drawing in her scent and analysing it. His eyes flashed suddenly when he caught something in her scent and he angled his head to the right now, giving her a much closer eye.

“And you are?” he asked.

“Emma of Northumberland. I’m the special envoy of Amber the Regent of Scotland to Prince Taejo of Korea, my lord,” she bowed.

“And a polite one at one,” he gave her an uprising eye. “Your question would be?” he asked still keeping his eyes on her. He seemed to be terribly interested in her all of a sudden, and Chansung moved closer, his inborn instinct to protect screeching at the highest volume in his head.

“We have an inquiry about Nichikhun of Ayutthaya,” she began not wasting any time. “You do remember him, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do remember that child,” he nodded.

“We have two questions,” when it meant business, Emma was nothing if not straightforward. “First, do you harbour any wish to reclaim him, and second, why does it affect him whenever you are in the vicinity, despite the fact that he doesn’t have your imprint?”

Khotan watched her speak as if marvelling at a small child reciting a very complicated poem. It seemed he forgot about his other two companions completely. The male vampire stood obediently at his master’s side, although the female vampire obviously looked slightly jealous. The old vampire smiled.

“First, I do not harbour any wish to claim Nichikhun. I have no interest in him. He was supposed to be special, but he accidentally got this Joseon imprint,” he glanced at Chansung.

“If you have no wish to claim him, why are your children always so eager to take him out whenever our paths cross?” Chansung kept his voice steady, but Emma could feel he was boiling inside.

Khotan reluctantly pulled his gaze away from Emma and focused on Chansung, his eyebrows raised slightly, as if Chansung asked a very silly question.

“Sibling rivalry,” he said matter-of-factly. “Nichikhun is the black sheep. They feel that he’s related, but he’s an outsider, a kitten thrown out of the litter, and thus they regard him as a threat. A threat they need to protect me from.”

“You? Need protection?” Chansung almost choked. Emma fought really hard to keep a judging expression off her face.

“Who am I to trample their instincts,” Khotan smiled. “I am an understanding parent.”

“Of course,” Chansung mumbled under his breath looking away.

“To answer your second question,” Khotan turned to Emma again. “Despite the fact that he doesn’t have my imprint, the connection between the maker and the progeny is still strong. Considering my age, my venom leaves a big trace. Therefore, it is no surprise that he gets affected… he still is somewhat special after all…” he paused. “Just as yourself,” the elder smiled knowingly.

“With all due respect sire,” Emma’s face showed no trace of emotion, but Chansung knew Khotan poked her where it hurt. “My condition is my own personal issue.”

“Why of course,” he gave her a polite nod. “If that is all…”

“That would be all. Thank you,” Emma bowed. “Please excuse us,” she turned to leave as Chansung bowed as well although rather unwillingly.

“How old are you, Emma of Northumberland,” Khotan asked before they disappeared.

“Almost eight hundred years old, my lord,” she answered over her shoulder soaring into the snowstorm.

“Fascinating.”

 

***

 

“Fascinating,” Chansung repeated staring at the frozen surface of the Taedong River, leaning onto the fence separating the bank from the Kim Il-Sung Square. They were in Pyongyang, staring at the lights surrounding the Juche Tower at the opposite bank of the river like a couple of good tourists, except for the fact that it was close to the dawn already and they were half expecting to see soldiers coming their way armed with semi-automatic guns, ready to shoo them away from the fence and back to the hotel beds where obedient tourists were supposed to be.

What they really could expect to see, though, was a vampire assigned to this area, rushing towards them and asking to be less obvious. But no one tried to drag them out of the square yet.

“This is ridiculous,” Chansung slowly exhaled through his nose, trying to keep himself calm. “Basically, we’ve been dealing with this shit for centuries because he can’t be bothered to keep his kids on a leash.”

“Yeah, imagine that, took less than 5 minutes of a dialogue to figure that out,” Emma turned around and rested her back and arms on the fence. Chansung gave her a stink eye.

“Khun had lost a hand in one of those skirmishes,” he sounded dejected. “It’s taken him ages to grow it back.”

“I know, I know,” she raised a hand in defeat. “Talking is the last thing on your mind when someone swoops onto you with stakes and swords,” she sighed. “But what can you do? He’s obviously an eccentric who likes keeping his kids loose, and it’s not like they’re breaking any laws? At least not directly,” she shrugged. “It’s unfortunate, but just… I don’t know. Put a tracker on him, and stay out of the way the next time he’s in town. At least stove Khun away so he doesn’t feel sick again.”

Chansung looked intently at her again. She couldn’t tell if that was the look of disapproval or something entirely else.

“Or…” she tried. “Slice through a few of Khun’s siblings for practice?” she said with her eyebrows raised. “Again? But I assume that would be way below you at this point.”

Chansung stared at her and then scoffed quietly. But it was an amused scoff.

“It would be a lot easier if we could just take him out,” he said thoughtfully.

“Chansung,” Emma turned to face the river again, fingers loosely intertwined, wrists resting on the fence. She turned left to look at him. “You would all die.”

“I know,” he weighed down his head, feeling defeated.

“That presence back there?” she was not letting it go because she knew Chansung wouldn’t let that thought to rest so easy. “He was reining in a lot, but I felt like choking either way. The guy’s easily more than 3000 years old!”

“I know,” Chansung mumbled pitifully, his head hung even lower.

“Unless you have someone equally old on your side, this Khotan guy could easily annihilate you all by himself,” Emma’s words felt like stones flung straight into his skull, mostly because they rang nothing but true.

“I know,” he said again with a resigned sigh.

“He’s really freaky,” Emma sighed, turning her back to the tower and leaning her elbows onto the fence again. “Usually it takes the scent of my blood to realize my problem, but he could tell just with one sniff of my general scent,” she shivered. “Spooky.”

“Well, he is very old,” Chansung nodded. “And your condition is not a problem.”

“Eight hundred years and a blood virgin?” Emma cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t know, Hwang Chansung, something is  _definitely_ wrong.”

“It’s not wrong, it’s just… a preference,” Chansung patted himself on the back for the word.

“A preference no one else has,” it was her turn to give him the stink eye.

“Not everyone has to do it,” he offered a reassuring smile.

“ _Everyone’s_ doing it,” she grumbled folding her arms across her chest.

“And you won’t,” he shrugged. And gave it a thought. “Or can’t?”

“Can’t,” she said without a slight tinge of hesitation and Chansung felt something clench deep inside his gut at the level of trust and honesty she was showing him. He didn’t know if it was excitement or guilt. “At least not since…” she cut off abruptly, and Chansung realized he skipped a moment, too preoccupied with his thoughts.

“Oh?” he smirked like a sly fox, getting into his playful mode as it was the safest thing to do. “Since when?” he wiggled his eyebrows, giggling and poking her in the ribs with his elbow.

“That was a very long time ago. For all I know, he might be dead by now.”

“Well, if he’s alive, you need to find him and kick the shit out of him…” Chansung saw the doubtful expression on her face and changed lanes immediately. “Or eat his heart out? Cos you’ve been missing out a lot.”

Emma looked at him like she’s just tasted something disgusting in her mouth.

“I don’t feel like it, no thanks.”

“Suit yourself,” he smiled shrugging. “And really, it’s not such a bad thing, with your condition, there are lots of vampires hankering for your blood, and you can manipulate that to your advantage quite well. I mean this Khotan guy… he also looked like he wanted to have you in his little pack as well, like a rare specimen…”

Emma stared at him with her mouth agape.

“Great,” she mumbled. “Now I have to make sure I don’t become a trophy in some old fart’s collection. Lucky me, he didn’t seem to be in a hurry,” she looked behind Chansung. “But that girl certainly is.”

“Huh?” Chansung looked up. Emma pointed behind him.

“The watchdog,” she said. Chansung turned around to see a female vampire scurrying towards them through the square, probably to tell them to get lost or hide because it was close to dawn and they’ve lingered in one place for too long. Chansung took a deep sniff of air and his spirits fell even lower.

“Oh man, not her,” he growled.

“What,” Emma snorted, eyeing a pretty female vampire with thick wavy hair. She was a bit shorter than Emma and there was a serious decisiveness in her gait. “Your ex?”

“Something like that, yeah,” Chansung sighed. “I had no idea she would be assigned to this area,” he straightened up and readied himself to face the unavoidable. “Will you help me if anything?” he asked pleading.

“I’m not as good of an actor as you are,” Emma sounded doubtful.

“Just pretend you’re someone else,” Chansung suggested, when the female already waved at them saying:

“Hello~ Excuse me, but you’ve stayed in one place for too long, it’s hard to keep a low profile in these lands, and…” she hushed as Chansung turned around to face her, her dark eyes growing as big as saucers. Emma emerged from behind Chansung to take a better look at the vampire, only to receive a death glare from her.

“Hello, Minkyung,” Chan greeted her.

“What is this?” she asked her expression immediately switching from friendly to annoyed, her voice shaking with poorly-masked anger. Her eyes darted from Chansung to Emma and back. “This is some kind of a sick revenge? Are you teasing me on purpose, Hwang Chansung?”

“It’s not what you think…”

“Not what I think?” she switched into Middle Korean all of a sudden. “Your bringing this foreign bitch in my area just to flaunt her around is not what I think?”

Emma’s left eye twitched.

“I had no idea you were assigned here,” Chansung heaved an exasperated sigh.

“Yeah right,” Minkyung’s eyes narrowed. “And you expect me to believe that? You make me drag my ass here when it’s so close to dawn and I have to see how you’re spending time with this foreign slut, the hell, Hwang Chansung?”

“Umm, excuse me, but…” Emma raised her hand tentatively, uttering in English.

“Shut your trap, bitch, I’m not talking to you!!” and she lunged at Emma slapping her hard across her face with her claws, leaving deep gashes in her skin and drawing blood.

It was too unexpected to avoid it, but before Minkyung could go in for a second slap, Emma caught her wrist, twisted her arm around locking it, and knocked her onto the ground, pushing the vampire’s face into the concrete with her right palm, her knee rammed into her back, twisting her arm so hard, one could hear her shoulder joints pop.

Chansung stared eyes wide open. Something dark and heavy tugged at his gut, but he willed himself to ignore it.

“Now, bitch, where are your fucking Korean manners?” Emma hissed through her clenched teeth in perfect Middle Korean. “Forgot to ask the most basic details about the person. Well you know, eonni is from the British Isles, eonni is a lot older than you, and eonni is pissed off, so if you’re still gonna try something funny, I swear to God, I’m gonna rip this fucking arm off and it will take you a shitload of time to grow it back. Are we clear?”

“We’re clear,” the younger vampire whined and Emma let her go.

“We’ll be leaving shortly,” Chansung promised as Minkyung backed away from them, clutching at her strained arm.

“Shit,” Emma touched at the left side of her face that was totally bloody. “She had silver under her fingernails, it doesn’t heal.”

“Allow me,” Chansung cupped her face in his big hands, a worried look in his eyes and he leaned close. He unceremoniously licked the first gash on her cheek from bottom to top. The wound began closing. “I seem to taste the most interesting things lately,” he noted before going down for the second gash. “First that boy with no imprint from our coven, now you,” he licked the wound.

“How do I taste?” Emma asked unfazed. She didn’t seem to care there was a drop-dead gorgeous vampire painstakingly licking at her face. He was being very thorough with it, too.

“Very fresh and pure,” Chansung rolled his tongue in his mouth, thinking of the best way to put it. “Like a crystal clear mountain spring,” he went down for the third gash.

“Oh, how boring,” Emma pouted and winced because her lips had also been split by the vampire’s claws, and they were refusing to heal. Chansung pulled back smiling gently, he looked her directly in the eye.

“But how rare,” he said. Emma tiptoed and glanced over his shoulder.

“She’s still watching,” she said. Chansung sighed.

“Shall we consolidate the belief and just make her uncomfortable enough to leave?” he blurted out before he could stop himself.

“Huh?” Emma blinked and frowned looking up at him. “What are you…?”

Chansung leaned closer, his nose almost touching hers. He saw her entire frame stutter for a fraction of second, and he knew she fought the urge to lean into him. Chansung knew he had that effect. His relatively warm body felt like a furnace, and vampires often found it hard to resist. He would use it to his own advantage quite regularly, but now his gut once more stirred with an odd mix of excitement and guilt.

“Work with me,” Chansung said angling his head, his hooded eyes focusing on her lips.

“You owe me a collection of old Middle-Korean texts or something,” she warned unfazed before it was too late.

“Deal,” Chansung agreed and leeched onto her lips, healing and kissing them at the same time.

It felt like she clenched her teeth and pouted her lower lip, waiting for him to take care of it. He ran the tip of his tongue along it, feeling how the distinct blood texture made way for something small and soft as her lip healed. He caught it between his teeth and gave it a careful, experimental tug.

Emma opened her eyes when he let go, her nostrils flaring. He knew there was nothing in his scent that would feel exceptional for her, save for comforting familiarity.

She glanced quickly over his shoulder to see that the angry vampire from Chansung’s past was still there. Emma narrowed her eyes and focused on him again.

“You call that believable?” she breathed against his mouth. Chansung’s stomach made an obnoxious flip and he frowned. He cupped her face in his warm hands, wiping away traces of drying blood. Emma didn’t seem to be affected by it. “She’s definitely not uncomfortable.”

Chansung’s fingers stilled and his hands slowly slid down to her neck. Emma cocked one dark eyebrow. Long shadows from his eyelashes fell on his pale cheeks when his right hand travelled down across her body and stopped at the small of her back. It splayed across her hoodie and pulled her close, bodies flush against each other. Emma looked up, wishing she were at least two inches taller.

“It might get too believable,” he grumbled, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

“Do I look like I’m gonna break?” she clutched at his coat’s lapels, her knuckles kneading into his chest, looking for warmth. “If you start something, see it to the end, Hwang Chansung.”

He didn’t know how far he had to go for the more convincing effect, but she surely wasn’t someone to back down from a challenge. Chansung tangled his left hand in her hair and angled her head to lock their lips properly. He had to swallow a surprised sigh when she opened her mouth and her tongue darted out to meet his, her hands now firm on his shoulders.

His head full of plum blossoms, he tugged at her hair angling her head, her chin going even higher. She grunted at the uncomfortable angle, but latched her hands on his neck and pulled him closer, swaying with him in his overtly natural play, and grazing her teeth at his lower lip.

Chansung growled, his other hand travelling fast across her body until his both hands were under her thighs and he hoisted her up, turning around and perching her on top of the fence. Emma’s legs wrapped tight around his waist and pulled him close, crushing him against her. All the air that still lingered in Chansung’s lungs escaped him immediately. He frowned and whined slightly at the numb sensation around his waist. He’d forgotten how strong she was.

But then there were feather light touches of her small fingertips at his nape, and Chansung breathed her in again, his lips travelling down her neck. She pulled her head back to give him a better access, and consequently glanced over his shoulder.

“She’s gone,” Emma breathed against his ear.

Chansung’s hands froze as he tried to register what she said. There were snakes roiling in his stomach, and his ears buzzed with the sudden flush. He blinked and pulled away, but not before giving her collarbone one final lick.

She watched him closely as he stumbled a step back, sitting on the fence and gripping a hold of it. Her face was absolutely healed, save for a few bloody smudges on her left cheek. She reached for it carefully, fingertips tracing her high cheekbone. There was a spike in her blood, and Chansung was sure she could feel a light flush under her fingertips. At least he felt it.

“Hrng,” Emma grunted keeping her eyes on him. “Now I’ll have to feed. Thanks, Hwang Chansung.”

“You’re welcome,” he pulled a wry smile, ignoring the flush at the back of his neck. “This… blood virgin thing,” he eyed her up and down. “Is a sham, isn’t it?”

Emma’s eyebrow darted up mischievously as she snorted, and then burst into a fit of giggles.

“I’ve never taken you for a supremacist,” she cackled.

“You know I’m not…” he angled his head confused, a crease forming between his brows.

“I don’t need to abstain to avoid blood fuse,” she shook her head smiling, her shoulders covered in a hoodie slightly hunched as she sat on the fence.

“But…” Chansung frowned. “It’s an instinct…”

“It is,” she raised her eyebrows and offered him a good-natured smile. “But there are also plenty of humans to fuck around with.”

Chansung’s jaw went slack.

“Ah…”

“Come on,” she hopped off the fence and lightly bopped his nose with her fingertip. “Let’s go find some food.”

 

***

 

_Glasgow_

 

“What do you have to do at vampire parties?”

Wooyoung looked away from the limo window and focused on Junho sitting next to him, who had just asked the elders a question.

They were almost there, but neither Wooyoung nor Junho had any idea what was in store for them. Going through well illuminated and snowy lime tree drive, the younglings seriously felt as if they had suddenly found themselves in a foreign fairy tale, or in one of those overseas movies one got to see on Christmas. Had he still been human, Wooyoung was sure his palms would’ve been really sweaty by now.

Taec met Khun’s eyes sitting in front of the younglings at the back of the limo. They had picked him up from one small chocolate shop in Glasgow (figures) on their way to the mansion. He must’ve left Yena’s house right when the sun went down, and wandered all way through the motorway to another city in nothing but his slippers, pyjama shirt, and orange pants.

Luckily, Khun knew Taec all too well, so he had also prepared a suit for him in advance. Surprisingly enough, it took him less than 5 minutes to change into a black suit inside the limo, although Junho was sure he got kicked accidentally, and Wooyoung had to fold neatly his discarded clothes. Khun was surprised to see that the youngest of the pack was a bit of a clean freak. That was just too much like… himself.

However, the thought that struck Khun the most was that he was the oldest out of the four vampires now about to arrive at the mansion. Whether they liked him or not, they still looked up to him. That felt so… different.

He had been the youngest for a few centuries and during the last hundred years he’s had some trouble getting used to the fact that Taec was the maknae. And now… he had another set of younger “brothers.” Somehow that made him realize he no longer was obliged to take care of his hyungs, but also, he had a bunch of younger vampires to take responsibility for.

What an… interesting shift. He was a hyung. A real hyung. Not a pseudo nanny/uncle, whom Taec wouldn’t even call by an appropriate title.

Taec was a weird one. He managed to find out that at the time they were turned, Khun and Chansung had been either his age or younger, so he took that as a point of reference and didn’t even bother with calling them “hyung.” And since Taec was smart and by no means a burden to the coven, they tolerated his antics. Not to mention that he was like a portable walking encyclopaedia, eager to fill people in on any topic.

Therefore, Khun simply leaned back into the leather seat, allowing Taec to understand he was supposed to explain things to the babies. Taec cleared his throat leaning forward and put his elbows onto his knees locking his fingers together.

“Socialize,” he said. Wooyoung and Junho turned to look at each other and then both simultaneously glanced at Taec.

“Duh?” they declared in sync.

“Well, but it’s true!” Taec waved his hands around. “In this case, we’re just going to present ourselves and sniff around, to get to know those people, get a clue who’s who and so on…”

“So that’s why we look like we’re going to a year-end festival or something,” Wooyoung pulled at his black tie. Taecyeon nodded.

“Indeed. Our objective is… one,” he raised his thumb. “Make a good impression and convince everyone from Minjun-hyung’s fiancée’s batch that we’re awesome, and they don’t need to be nervous about this alliance. And, two,” Taec’s forefinger shot up. “Sniff around and see if there’s anyone ready to bring us down.”

“Sabotage?” Junho asked his eyebrows rising.

“I’ll take care of that,” Khun uttered. “Lady Amber is an important person and up till now, she was very much so eligible for various alliances in the Isles. I bet there should be a bitter vampire or two, not too happy with her associating with foreigners.”

“What’s she like? This Lady Amber,” Junho was picturing someone close to the elvish queen Galadriel in his mind: Someone tall with flowing golden hair, pale sharp face, and…

“Turned in 854, Baltic by birth, but anchored in Northumbria. Has no progeny, but nurtured quite a few important vampires, is in good terms with the queen,” Khun reported. “Blonde, height 171 cm, weight…” he was silenced by Taec patting him on his thigh.

“Yes, yes, we all know you’ve researched her probably all the way down to what kind of panties she’s wearing…” Taec calmed him down in his low throaty voice.

“Usually multicoloured. No polyester. Only cotton or silk,” Khun said. Taec stared. Junho and Wooyoung couldn’t help but snort.

“Oh great, now whenever I look at hyung’s future wife, I’m gonna think of her panties,” Taec pursed his lips frowning. “Thank you very much,” he shook his head.

“Anyways, none of us have met her personally, so we don’t know what she’s really like, but Chansung said she’s cool. He liked her.”

Junho snorted.

“Chansung-hyung likes everyone,” he said.

“Yeah, and if he doesn’t, he eats your heart out,” Wooyoung quickly sucked some air in through his mouth, making a hissing sound. “Not the person whose impressions you can count on, hyung.”

Junho giggled, his eyes curving into adorable crescents. Wooyoung grinned back, half of his face covered by his long black bangs, and they both high-fived each other. Taec blinked, his perky eyes going back and forth between the two boys.

“My, aren’t we in a good mood today,” he noted. “Did you feed or something?”

“Yes,” Junho and Wooyoung answered in sync. Taec’s eyes widened.

“Both of you?”

“Yes,” they answered in unison again. Khun cleared his throat. Taec turned his head left at the elder vampire.

“Impressive,” he said. Khun smugly folded his arms across his chest, looking out of the window.

“Well, I’m nothing short of amazing… and we’re here.”

The Rolls-Royce stopped in front of majestic stone steps. A thin layer of snow covered the steps and the driveway, but it looked like it was left there on purpose, to make the general mood look more festive.

As they got out of the car, Junho eyed the mansion up and down with his mouth open. Even Wooyoung looked impressed. Khun actually figured this small castle could be made into a very nice tourist location, something along the lines of “spend a weekend in an authentic Scottish environment.” Taec whistled; he wanted to dissect every single stone in the foundation and see what it was really made of.

Trimming his lapels and eyeing everyone, Khun gave a sign to move forward. Four vampires in black suits headed towards the main entrance. There were two people waiting at the top of the stairs.

Minjun watched his younglings take one step at a time, a smile slowly blooming on his face, half of his chin buried in his furry coat collar. He hadn’t mentioned that he wanted the boys to look presentable, hoping that Khun would be bright enough to consider it himself and Minjun was right: Khun never disappointed, and the boys looked impressive in black suits, white dress shirts, and black ties and shoes. Wooyoung’s black hair shone as much as his shoes. Junho looked like a delicate work of art. Taec was their main tall flagman and Khun… well you could trust the blonde prince to be the centre of attention wherever he went.

Minjun glanced right at Amber, standing by his side. She looked up at him, cocking her eyebrow and pulling a wry smirk.

“Nice,” she said.

“What did I tell you,” Minjun figured this was how a proud father was supposed to feel.

As they finally stood on top of the stairs in front of Minjun and Amber, everyone bowed saying their greetings and Minjun introduced every single one of them to the blonde female vampire.

Junho figured the blonde hair was the only thing that matched the imaginary Amber in his head. Other than that… She was wearing a black suit jacket matched with black trousers, and her white dress shirt had a bunch of ruffles in front adorned with an oval scarlet brooch. The whole ensemble made her look like a 19th century amazon, save for the fact she was wearing black lens-less glasses and exquisite black & white trainers, quite surprisingly matching her outfit.

“I am very glad to have finally met you all,” she smiled looking at each and every of them. “It’s a pity that Chansung couldn’t join us, but then again, I couldn’t invite all from my side as well,” moving aside she motioned at the wide-open door that looked more like a gate. “Do come in, there are no humans, so please feel at ease.”

“Be nice,” Minjun said as they walked through a long marble hall, looking curiously around. Junho and Wooyoung met each other’s eye both wiggling their eyebrows, although Wooyoung’s were hidden behind the curtain of his hair.

“I don’t think that will be hard,” Amber chuckled in her low voice when they finally entered a huge living room.

It had five or six big floor-to-ceiling windows adorned with dark cherry curtains, the floor set with carpets. There was even a burning fireplace with a range of various pouffes, sofas, and ottomans placed around it. And a top of those sofas in twos or threes… there were female vampires. And female only. Females of various ethnicities dressed in dazzling dresses and watching the Korean vampires with interest. Amber grinned.

“I figured that living in an all-male pack… you’d be alright with a rather different company for one night. Provided, I got the right memo about your… preferences,” she said quickly explaining herself to the stupefied lads.

Khun looked guarded, Taec excited, Junho surprised and eyes wide open, Wooyoung… simply blank.

“These girls are some of the most influential vampires in the isles. Some of them are even older than me, some are younger than Taecyeon, but… secure them, and you basically have the isles in your pocket,” she grinned. “Now, aren’t I just awesome?”

“You…” Minjun was momentarily lost for words.

“I know,” Amber grinned.

“By secure you don’t really mean…?” Taecyeon drawled.

“Why, of course not,” she eyed him half-reproachful half-amused. “We wouldn’t want to cause so much stress for your two virgin baby boys.”

“I’m not a virgin,” Wooyoung grumbled while Junho’s ears turned pink. After the total drain, his metabolism had spiked up.

“I meant your umm…” seeing one kid rather flustered, Amber searched for a more neutral word. “Vampire love life,” she then eyed Wooyoung up and down cocking an eyebrow. “What you did in your human years is of no interest to me. Haven’t you explained it to them?” she looked up at Minjun on her right.

“No, not yet,” he shook his head.

“Well, that can be easily postponed. For now, it’s enough to simply impress them,” Amber nodded. “They love to talk, think of what you’d say if they asked you anything…”

“ _I don’t speak English_ ,” Wooyoung suggested. Amber snorted.

“Charming,” she patted him on the back. “Let’s go,” and she pushed them into the room.

They were quite a success. The funniest thing was that the oldest ladies besieged the two new-borns asking them to tell them about their human lives. They were interested in both, Korea and what young boys were up to these days. Junho and Wooyoung fumbled and made mistakes, but forced themselves to carry on talking in English.

Taec was in the middle of a wide ottoman surrounded by four vampire ladies talking non-stop about how the number of hormones in human blood and its type can influence the vampire who feeds on it. Khun had slowly drifted to the fireplace where a tall dark-haired lady watched the scene unfolding in front of her with an amused quirk to her eyebrow.

He felt a chilly tingle at the back of his neck, which meant the lady was terribly old and not someone to be messed with, but Khun considered it a challenge. He easily struck a conversation with her, soon finding out she was from the Highland and also involved in trading and commerce. The prospect of a new business partner perked him up.

Minjun and Amber stood next to the entrance to the room watching everything, feeling strangely satisfied. He looked left at her, eyeing her profile lit in reddish and orange glow from the blaze of the fireplace, her eyes all focused on the scene in front of her. She looked… dreamy and trustworthy. He had no idea why he thought that. But she felt him watching her and turned her head right to look up at him. Minjun smiled meeting her eyes.

“It was a good idea,” he said. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” she winked. “Too bad Chansung couldn’t come. The girls would’ve loved him.”

“Chansung isn’t much of a talker,” Minjun mused.

“Oh, with his looks,” Amber shrugged. “Who cares if he talks or not.”

Minjun considered her suspiciously narrowing his eyes.

“You know, some time ago, he offered to take my place in this…” he said. Amber gave him a close eye.

“So? Am I supposed to find the current situation regretful?”

“I…”

“Well, I like things as they are,” she looked away from him again, focusing on her guests. “But I appreciate the effort. It’s nice to know you have a developing sense of jealousy.”

“I…” Minjun looked down eventually, unable to find any word to say.

Amber grinned silently to herself watching Khun work his charms on the oldest guest in the mansion.

“…not only in pharmacy, we invest quite a lot in our research and development as well,” he gave the lady a polite smile.

“Then how do you secure that the results of your research do not get leaked?” she asked.

“Well, we have a personal researcher who…” he hushed feeling his phone vibrate in his inner jacket pocket. “I’m terribly sorry,” he gave her an apologetic eye oozing with warm, sweet, brown chocolate, and pulled out his phone. “They know they shouldn’t be bothering me on Christmas E…” seeing the caller’s ID, his expression flashed with a hint of hope and worry, and he looked at the lady again. “Please excuse me,” he bowed. “I simply must answer this call,” she gave him a knowing smile with a slight nod, and Khun dismissed himself, walking away from the main ruckus in the living room.

He halted at the furthermost window, phone to his ear, eyes set on the snow outside.

“You’re ok?”

“What’s with the voice, aren’t you supposed to be at the party right now?” he was greeted by an upbeat laugh. Khun looked up to see his own reflection on the window. He looked like a baby deer caught in the headlights with his eyes open wide.

“You’re ok…” he heaved a sigh of relief.

“Well of course I am,” Chansung laughed. “You would’ve been in Korea by now, if anything had happened to me.”

“You’ve got that right,” Khun mumbled.

“Anyway, just wanted to let you know that things are settled for now, and we’re going back with the first flight once the sun sets.”

“We?”

“I’ve met Emma here. She was scouting Northern territories under Amber’s orders, go figure, she helped me out.”

“Well, if it was with her…” Khun thought, his stomach clenching anxiously. “I guess it was a bit safer…” he hushed hearing something static in his ear as if there was a scuffle on the other end; he thought Chansung dropped the phone or something.

“Nichikhun? S’that you?” a young female voice rang in his ear. “Stop being paranoid, Chansung is a big boy now.”

Khun almost collapsed on the expensive carpet. This was someone he couldn’t handle. He didn’t know how to. Emma was one of the few women who remained unfazed no matter what amount of Khun-charm he used on her.

“Nuna,” he sighed.

“On a side note,” her voice became serious. “Your maker is one freaky specimen, we all will have to discuss it when we come back, maybe include Amber in this too.” ( _Emma, my phone_ ~ Chansung whined in the background.)

“Do I need to tell this to Amber?” Khun asked.

“No need, I’ll do it myself when I get back, enjoy the party,” and she hung up.

Khun stared at his phone speechless. This woman… she always left him perturbed to the core. She looked like a high school senior, but she was like twice his age, and he never knew how he should behave around her.

He dumbly walked back into the middle of the room and flopped down onto the ottoman next to Taec. The ladies were thrilled. The Highland lady that Khun had left standing was now busy talking to the two new-borns.

“You dance?!” a 300-year-old red-haired vampire squeaked clamping her mouth shut. She gloated with her eyes wide open over Wooyoung and Junho, who were sitting on two pouffes, surrounded by at least five other vampire ladies.

“Well, we used to,” Junho looked down.

“Can you show us anything?” another one asked.

“Yes, it’s so rare to meet a vampire interested in modern dancing these days…” a third female supported her friend.

“It’s not like we have anything rehearsed…” Wooyoung drawled.

“Maybe something old?” Junho asked quickly in Korean, earning a few _oh his tone is so manly when he speaks his language_ type of whispers.

“Like what?” Wooyoung looked left at him.

“I don’t know, what do you remember from school? Any dance that you kept on doing for years?”

Wooyoung gave it a thought. It had to be something not too serious and something that the women would like, something not too crazy, and something he would enjoy doing… why, that was quite a lot of requirements.

“Do you know anything from old JYP songs?” he asked. Junho grinned, his eyes curving into adorable crescents.

“Dude, I’ve danced to his songs since elementary.”

Wooyoung stood up, offhandedly taking off his jacket. He turned back at Minjun.

“Hyung, can I use your smartphone? We need to download a song,” he said.

“I have a laptop and Wi-Fi,” Amber offered walking closer to the boys, leaving her spot at the entrance. “Would that do?”

“Yes,” Junho nodded taking off his jacket as well and looking at Wooyoung. “We can use Daum or YouTube.”

“YouTube,” Wooyoung said. “Daum doesn’t work well outside Korea.”

“What are we dancing?” Taec popped up in between the two younglings out of the blue, all giddy and eager to go. Junho glanced at Wooyoung slightly scared of what it might turn into if Taec were to join them. Wooyoung sighed and gripped Taec at his shoulders, pushing him gently back to the wide sofa.

“Hyung,” the youngest uttered seriously. “You have the passion and eagerness to learn, but not today, alright?”

“But…” Taec pouted as Wooyoung pushed him down onto the sofa.

“Hyung,” the youngling squeezed Taec’s shoulders. “Not this time, ok? I promise there will be other opportunities, mm?”

“When was Prince Taejo turned?” Taec suddenly popped a quiz in hope of seeing Wooyoung fluster.

“21 years before the common era,” Wooyoung answered unfazed. “Two years before the death of King Jumong, Dongmyeong of Goguryeo.”

Taec stared. “Damn,” his shoulders sagged.

“Stay put,” Wooyoung patted him on the back looking at the ladies, who were still settled on the sofa. “Please take care of our hyung,” he bowed going back to join Junho, who was already browsing YouTube on the laptop that Amber had provided so swiftly.

 

New Text Message

02:33am Taec

_Knock, knock. Anyone alive?_

 

02:34am Yena

_Still. Too bad. They liked your stollen, btw._

 

02:34am Taec

_T..T cut down on those suicidal thoughts. It’s infectious._

 

02:35am Yena

_........ how’s the party?_

 

02:35am Taec

_I’m sitting all alone and depressed in my little corner…_

 

02:36am Yena

_… Liar. Maybe depressed, but definitely not alone._

 

Taec looked up from his phone to see four beautiful vampire women keeping him company and he had to admit that Yena was right. She always was. That was creepy.

Watching the two boys prepare for the show, Amber suddenly got an idea. She clapped.

“Oh right! Anyone wants cubes? I still have some left in the cellar,” she asked and all the ladies raised their hands up, looking quite excited at the prospect.

“Cubes?” Minjun frowned turning to look at her.

“Blood ice-cubes,” she explained. “I have blood packs delivered on a regular basis, but I don’t need to feed that much anymore… you know how it is once you hit 800ish… so I just freeze the overstock and it’s kind of like…”

“Like an ice pop!” suggested one of the youngest female vampires, currently sitting on the ottoman her arms around Taec’s elbow, and her foot wrapped around Khun’s ankle. The blonde prince kept Taec company once he was so offhandedly deflected by their Wooyoung.

“Yes so…” Amber nodded. “I need to go downstairs and get a box,” she glanced at Minjun. “Care to give me a hand?”

“Ack~!” Taec gasped eyes wide open, his hands on his mouth. He met Khun’s eye, and they both goggled Minjun.

“Ooooooh~  _care to give me a hand?_  Ufufufufufu~” they both teased simultaneously.

Wooyoung and Junho almost fell over seeing Khun join one of Taec’s stupid antics. Minjun rolled his eyes.

“So Chansung’s gone, and you’re working hard to poke at me in his stead?” he rubbed his neck. Khun winked. Taec grinned focusing on Amber.

“No worries, you’re gonna be safe behind our hyung’s broad shoulders,” he wiggled his eyebrows.

“Broad enough to be a hanger,” Wooyoung butted in making Khun snort, which he tried to disguise behind a lame cough, but Taec caught that.

“Well, I’d gladly hang myself on this hanger,” Amber declared taking confused Minjun by the hand and dragging him out of the room. Some of the women giggled.

The cellar or the dungeon (what Minjun would’ve called it) was stony and well-lit without a single trace of humidity. The walls were dry and polished, and their footsteps echoed loud as they walked down the hall to whatever storage room she had there. Minjun guessed this part of the house was the oldest and hadn’t changed much throughout the centuries. One would’ve expected to see or hear drops of water plop down from the ceiling due to excessive dampness, but everything was really well looked after.

“Why don’t you keep it in a freezer?” he asked when Amber opened the last wooden door on the left. It creaked. Amber walked inside keeping her head low; it was dark in the room, but her vampire vision was more than enough to see everything clearly. The wooden box with blood ice cubes was stacked at the very top of the wooden case of shelves, way up above Amber’s head.

“Because the temperature in this part of the cellar is always below zero,” she explained hovering up and taking the box.

Minjun walked in silently as well. With him in the room, it felt somewhat crammed. He dominated the space. Amber was too concentrated on hovering. Minjun guessed she was Chansung’s type, with outstanding fighting skills yet limited ability to fly.

“You should see when humans come here, they always have vapour escaping their mouths, it’s hilarious,” she turned around the box in hands, and Minjun’s face was right there at her chest level.

It startled her. She gasped and let go of the box, instinctively reaching for something she could grab a hold of because with her concentration gone, she fell down. The box hit the ground with a loud bang, and delicate regular cubes of frozen blood scattered all over the floor with a distinct rattling sound. But no one flopped.

With her arms stretched out, Amber hung on Minjun’s shoulders, her nose stuck into his collarbone. Minjun caught her, his arms wrapped tight around her waist. It was more of a reflex action than an advancement on his side, but what did catch his attention was a slow and meticulous sniffing somewhere close to his right ear. He could feel her nose brush against his skin.

“You smell so nice,” she said. Her voice was lower than usual.

“Amber?” he frowned slightly. “What are you…ah…” gasping, he closed his coal-black eyes as her fangs slowly sank into his neck. She took just one tiny gulp, not enough to leave any trace, and then she licked the wound clean until it closed. Minjun had gooseflesh all over his back.

“You taste nice too,” her nose brushed against his cheekbone.

“What about me? Don’t I get a bite?” Minjun smirked, his grip on her waist growing tighter. Amber pulled back looking straight into his dark orbs. She pulled a wry smile.

“Be a gentleman and wait for the wedding night, ok?” she winked freeing herself out of his embrace and kneeling down to gather all the blood ice cubes scattered across the floor. “We better get back before those women eat your babies.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> I am sorry this has taken a lot longer to post. I was out of the country on the usual posting schedule, and then I got into a personal slump, and it took a while to chase it away. But I hope it won't happen again!
> 
> Thank you for your kudos and subscriptions. If you have questions or there's something on your mind, there's that comment box (seriously, writers love comments *pouts*).
> 
> This chapter was really hard to edit because the overall vampire-human dynamics in the story have changed a lot since I first wrote this, and so Khun and his morals stand out as something archaic. Yet then I saw that he's very consistent as a character, and maybe it's a good thing to have him as he is.
> 
> Also, I almost completely rewrote and expanded the North Korean episode in the chapter. I will have to go back to it again and see if I left any typos. OTL. Khun's maker in the original posting was Ancient Greek. I changed it because I felt it was too random, and a nomad from Central Asia perhaps makes more sense.
> 
> Thank you all for reading, and hoping to post a new chapter next week!
> 
>  
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Egle0702)


	7. #7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🔷 Khun to the rescue!  
> 🔷 Master Hudun's choices.  
> 🔷 Wooyoung teaches Taecyeon dance.  
> 🔷 Little Yena is smol.  
> 🔷 Chansung's playing with brushes (and fire).  
> 🔷 Taecyeon teaches Wooyoung some blood stuff.

_Edinburgh, present day_

 

Her stomach ached. She wished it were period cramps because then she could've blamed Mother Nature for it, but now she had no one else but herself to blame for eating too much on the Christmas weekend. Bobby has always had a good appetite. Petite people were usually like that: eating more than an elephant and still staying as thin as a mouse. She knew she had to learn to reign herself in, but for some reason, every single year, Bobby would gorge herself so much on the Christmas dinner that her stomach would ache for a few oncoming days.

Her head lolled around until it flopped onto the desk, pressing a sheet of paper to her cheek. Half of the desk disappeared under her long wavy hair. It was past 7pm, but she still stayed at the office, sorting out accounts and holiday mail. There were bags and bags of Christmas and the New Year’s cards beside her desk, all addressed to Nichkhun Buck Horvejkul. She wondered whether that was his real name in the first place. For all she knew it could’ve been even Jaroenrattanatarakoon or Thammarachathirat.

“Sudavadi, you’re tired, go home,” a soft voice reached her and Bobby opened her eyes to stare at a few lines of numbers. Raising her head up quick, she focused on the blonde vampire, standing right in front of her desk with a file full of papers in his hands. Bobby stared.

“Suda…” her mouth gaped open. “How do you know my Thai name?” she frowned. “Only my mom calls me that.”

Khun looked up from his papers, his perfect face melting into a sweet smile. Bobby already knew that his smiles were dangerous to trust, so at least at first, she was left unfazed. But then Khun leaned closer, closing the distance between them to the point she could see her own reflection in his warm chocolate eyes. Bobby instinctively pulled back; her chair creaked with the sudden movement.

“I know lots of things,” Khun said smiling softly. “And really, go home,” he patted her on the head. He found himself wondering at how soft her hair was; he didn’t really expect it to be so thick and… lush, for the lack of a better word.

“But I’m not done yet,” Bobby pursed her lips. Khun straightened himself and glanced at the bags of Christmas cards.

“You don’t really have to go through all of them,” he said closing his file. “Most of them are just trash anyway.”

“But still…” she looked down at her desktop, ignoring the fact he’s basically called her tasks useless. There was a printed copy of an article from The Times and a report from the company’s Public Relations department on the annual charity events. Bobby had some of the lines on both papers underlined with a bright red marker. “Oh right…”

“What is it?” Khun put the file on the desk and walked around to stand behind Bobby, one of his hands on the desktop, the other on the backrest of her chair, leaving the girl basically locked in his embrace. He leaned closer and Bobby crouched in her chair, she didn’t know if it was his cologne or some vampire magic, but he smelled nice. Not sparkly sweet, but something rich, light, and intense.

“Umm…” Bobby cleared her throat, reaching for the article. “Maybe it’s just me, but I kind of found it weird.”

“What?” Khun leaned even closer.

“This ummm… article,” Bobby showed him the printed copy of The Times. “It says that the… your company…”

“Which one?” he asked half-amused at how flustered she seemed.

“This one,” she emphasized through her clenched teeth. “That your company spent over £10 million for various charity events this year.”

“And?

“And your PR department gives an account for £20 million,” she took the sheet of paper marked in the red marker and spared him a fleeting glance. Once again, he was too close, but she had already braced herself for it, so it wasn’t such a shock. “Miscommunication between departments?” she asked, giving him both sheets. Khun took them pulling away from her and examining closer the text and the lines she had highlighted in red. He frowned slightly.

“I don’t think so,” he said after giving it a little thought. “Most probably just a typo.”

“Don’t you think someone might be, I don’t know, laundering the money?” she asked raising her eyebrows.

“You watch too many movies,” Khun laughed. “Not in our company,” he then gave her a closer look. “But you can investigate, if you want.”

Bobby blinked.

“Me?”

“Yes, you,” Khun nodded giving her back the sheets and walking around her desk. “You seem to be highly interested in various conspiracy theories, so why not? I bet it’s more interesting than sorting out mail and reading how gorgeous people consider me to be.”

“You read that mail too?” Bobby’s eyes widened.

“No, but why else they’d write me,” he shrugged nonchalantly taking his file. “Go home.”

“Right,” she pushed away from her desk. “I guess I will… still need to buy stuff for Yena.”

“Fine,” Khun lowered himself into his leather office chair opening the folder again. “It will be cloudy and snowy tomorrow so don’t even think of running late, I’ll be here since early morning.”

“Roger that,” Bobby wrapped her massive scarf around her neck and shoulders, and flung on her thick coat. Grabbing her bag, she walked out of his office with: “See you tomorrow.”

“Be careful,” Khun uttered not bothering to look up from his papers.

“Stop being paranoid,” she rolled her eyes before closing the door.

 

 

Vapour escaped her mouth as she walked outside. Chill, so uncommon to this area, stung her cheeks and she hurried to put on her thick woolly gloves. Winter was no joke this year.

Still standing close to the revolving door, Bobby looked around, wondering which bus stop she should go to. Tasked with buying various items for Yena, she either had to take the longer route and go to the biggest mall in the area, or she could take the shorter route right towards the Old Town and buy stuff in a small shop next to Yena’s house. Buses didn’t go too frequently there, but Bobby figured she could wait as it wasn’t too freezing, so she turned left. And bumped into someone after having taken just one single step.

Cursing inwardly and mumbling words of apology, she looked up to see a face that made her pull back instinctively. Bobby didn’t know how, but she knew he was a vampire. As tall as Khun, with mesmerizing green eyes and fair hair, and slightly stubby chin, half of it covered behind a black scarf and the collar of his grey coat. Bobby bowed her head low and got away from him as soon as possible. Khun’s paranoia was rubbing off on her little by little.

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw him enter the building. Well, figures, he probably was there to see Khun or something.

Clutching her bag tight in her right hand, she carefully walked down the icy pavement towards the bus stop. The street wasn’t too busy and there were just few people here and there. It was past the rush hour already, and in this part of the city, where business and trade centres were located, no one really tended to work overtime. With Christmas gone and the New Year’s still ahead, the buildings, trees, and lampposts were still decorated in dazzling lights, but it felt different than the festive pre-Christmas atmosphere. It was like a day old kimbab: still tasty, but without the initial freshness.

Finally, having reached the empty bus stop, she wondered if it was ok to sit down on the bench in the pavilion, but the bench didn’t seem to be frozen, and she had a few thick layers of clothes on, so eventually she plopped onto the wooden bench, putting the bag on her knees.

Bobby sighed, vapour escaping her mouth. She ran the list of items she had to buy for Yena inside her head. It was weird that Yena trusted her to buy food. Well, most of it was cat food for Bruno, but still. Bobby suddenly wondered if she would have enough cash to pay for the tinned cat food, or she would need to use a card, so she unzipped her bag, rummaging for her wallet.

She could feel a presence sit next to her without even the need to look up. Thinking it was just another would-be passenger, she ignored the person until she caught a distinct pattern of a grey coat with the corner of her eye. Her right hand still in her bag, Bobby looked up slowly to see the vampire she saw at Khun’s company building minutes ago. He looked her in the eye and smiled without showing his teeth. Bobby frowned slightly and kept on rummaging through her bag, although she slid away from him towards the edge of the bench. To her frustration, he slid closer. She didn’t like the way he smelled. Whoever said all vampires oozed with delightful aroma was delirious.

Bobby looked up at him. He smiled again. Boy that was annoying.

“May I help you with anything?” she asked her hand still in her bag, although she had forgotten the wallet already.

“And how such a pretty young lady could help me?” he cocked an eyebrow, his voice hoarse yet warm like sand in the sun. Bobby pursed her lips.

“I know what you are,” she said without a hint of fear. The vampire smirked, this time his fangs totally bared and a part of Bobby’s brain managed to think “uh-oh.”

“Then it makes my job a lot easier,” he reached out at her, snatching and clasping her neck in a tight grip before she could even move.

Eyes wide open, Bobby simply let out a gasp, and before her brain could even switch into the panic mode, her right hand, which had already been gripping the cold metal for a few painful seconds, shot up out of her bag and jabbed a silver fork into his left cheek, right below his eye. She could feel the prongs scrape at his bone.

“Argh! Bitch!” snatching at the wound with the fork sticking out of it, he threw her out of the bus stop pavilion, and Bobby flew across the pavement eventually hitting the bus stop post, smashing her head into the pole and crashing onto the ground.

She felt as if a herd of elephants had run over her. Come to think of it, didn’t they say that elephants usually don’t step on people lying in their way? She was pretty sure she’d heard somewhere that an elephant could walk through a field of eggs, and the eggs would still be intact… what the hell, brain. She tried shaking her head, to shoo away random thoughts, but it felt too heavy and too painful.

Taking shallow breaths and looking to her right, she saw the vampire was having trouble pulling out the fork out of his cheek. She grinned through the pain. Who knew Khun’s paranoia could be useful?

Ever since he’d mentioned about her being tasty and the necessity to be careful, she had been carrying a fork from her mom’s set of silverware, just for the hell of it. Now go figure… too bad she didn’t have a knife too, because he pulled the fork out and lunged at her, his eyes full of nothing but intention to kill.

Bobby closed her eyes readying herself for the pain, but it never came. Well, her forehead ached like crap, and she was sure she had a grazed knee and lots of bruises on her elbows and back, but other than that…

Hearing an irritated growl, she tentatively pried one eye open. Then she opened another one and stared.

There was a pair of legs in front of her, and she knew that suit. Slowly following up the thin and long legs, she saw blonde hair, and then even higher, there was an outstretched arm and a hand clutching her assailant at the throat. The vampire’s face was a mess: the wound inflicted by the silver tool wasn’t heeling fast, and the fact that another vampire was clamping on his blood circulation wasn’t helping either.

Khun held the vampire around a foot above the ground, his face stone-cold and his eyes throwing daggers at the assailant, squirming in his grip. Bobby gaped. Despite the similar height, the local looked bulkier than Khun, but he could do nothing to escape his clutches. It must’ve been the age; Bobby could think of no other option. Khun must’ve been a lot older.

“Fangs off,” the Thai growled through his clenched teeth.

“She wasn’t marked,” the vampire coughed.

“But you could tell the scent was all over her,” Khun’s tone was as cold as his face. He threw the vampire onto the pavement. “Now get lost before I report you to the regent.”

“The regent doesn’t deal with such trivial matters,” the vampire stood up clutching at his throat, taking careful sniffs of air, his eyes on Khun.

“Wanna bet?” Khun growled taking one step towards him. The green-eyed vampire hissed through his clenched teeth and hurried off.

Khun watched him go until he disappeared from his sight. Then the blonde walked towards the bench and, picking up the fork from the ground, he turned around to walk back to Bobby, kneeling in front of her.

“Pretty good call,” he said raising the fork so she could see it better. The girl coughed, sitting up on the cold ground.

“I guess you were right,” she said frowning from the pain. “I should’ve taken a cab… ah~” she winced when Khun touched her cheekbone, gently pulling her head lower so he could take a closer look at the wound.

There was a rather deep bleeding gash on her forehead, but aside from a mild concussion, he didn’t believe she was seriously injured. Nevertheless.

“You need to go to a hospital,” he said putting the fork into his jacket’s pocket and taking her into his arms, effortlessly lifting her from the ground.

“Can’t you just lick it away?” Bobby suggested feeling rather groggy. Khun chuckled silently, and she could feel his chest vibrate as he spoke because her lolling head leaned onto him.

“You want me to become an addict or something?” he walked with Bobby in his arms towards the bench, taking her bag and putting it onto her; Bobby clasped it with one free hand. “Besides, we need to check you for other injuries, just in case,” he added. “It’s not too far, I’ll take you,” and he turned around and headed towards the opposite direction from where Bobby initially wanted to go.

“Sorry about that,” she mumbled gripping at his jacket’s lapel. Noticing that she winced with almost every step he took, Khun hovered up and soared about an inch above the ground, carefully checking if there were any people around.

“It’s not your fault,” Khun was too concentrated on flying and watching out for the people to shake his head. “We were supposed to teach you how to deal with the vampires right from the start,” his grip around her knees tightened. “Once you get better, you’re gonna start taking lessons from the master.”

“The master?” Bobby frowned into his tie confused.

“Chansung,” Khun explained. “He’s the best,” he switched back into walking because of the few people going to and fro.

“Chansung…” Bobby mumbled thinking of the old and tall, taciturn vampire with a dreamy look in his big bovine eyes. “You think he would teach someone like me?”

“If not, I’ll make him.”

“You?” Bobby blinked. “Make Chansung?” somehow that didn’t go well with the age paradigm she had in her head. Khun merely smirked.

“Oh, I have my ways.”

_Late Goryeo, 1270s_

 

It was a spacious cave deep inside the mountains. Initially, it had been a natural cavern, but as the first vampires found it and their community grew, they carved out deeper and higher into the mountain, until there was a hall big enough to accommodate up to a hundred people. There seldom were that many though.

Vampire population really wasn’t that big, and not everyone would gather for the annual meetings. Not to mention that most of them preferred nomadic way life, and they didn’t care about the power struggles between the few main clans.

One of the reasons Jung Jihoon managed to emerge as a charismatic and attractive leader was the fact that he belonged to neither of the clans, as his maker was some old vampire drained in a duel not long after Jihoon had been turned. Then, just a few decades old Jihoon, a former Goguryeo general and a rather disoriented young vampire, was saved by none the other but the oldest vampire on the peninsula – Master Hudun – who did not have any progeny of his own at the time.

Master Hudun trained and nurtured Jihoon until he matured enough to acquire his own venom, and he then let the young one go. To create his own future. Jihoon’s (or Prince Taejo, as vampires began calling him a few hundred years later) affiliation with Master Hudun and the sheer power of his personality brought him to the very top of the main leaders of peninsular vampires.

He had been there when the cave was still very small, he saw it grow bigger, he supervised as the stairs and seats were carved out of the stone in the round hall. He had watched the first torches being introduced into the cave and how they lit the hall, colouring it in a warm brown and dark orange glow.

The same orange glow now illuminated shocked pale faces of around 20 vampires, standing in a close-knit circle around one of their kin. Jihoon looked around and, noticing that no one dared to say a word, he took a step closer towards Master Hudun, standing in the middle of the circle.

“Master,” there was a slight quiver in his voice. “What are you saying?”

Hudun looked up at him, a soft smile on his face. He was an epitome of pure serenity.

“As you’ve heard,” he said. “Drain me."

Jihoon clenched his right fist, looking away and suddenly his breath coming back to life.

“I can’t do that,” he wheezed. Master Hudun reached out his hand, gripping Jihoon’s shoulder, their robes swaying lightly.

“Yes, you can,” the elder said trying to catch Jihoon’s eyes, the younger one avoiding him at all costs. “It will never end until I am here, and I am not interested in power, that is not what I have been bred for… And if any of you still doubt my choice,” he raised his voice, his eyes scanning over the rest of the vampires. “If there is anyone that I see as a legitimate leader, it is Taejo, and therefore, as a token of my support, I give him everything.”

His voice echoed in the spacious cave. Everyone remained silent. Dark bangs covering half of Jihoon’s eyes quivered as he finally turned his head to look Hudun directly in the eye, now both of his fists clenched, and his whole body tensed so much he was shaking from head to toes. Hudun could see the younger’s teeth set hard, and there were two blood-red tears glistening in the inner corners of his sharp eyes.

“Everything, Jihoon-ah,” he reiterated watching the prince, and smiled. “So, use it well,” Master Hudun pulled back his robe, exposing his pale shoulders.

Jihoon released a strangled sigh blinking rapidly, and two bloody tears ran down his cheeks. He had no other choice. Everyone was watching. If it were to refuse, someone else would jump to take his spot and do it. And he couldn’t allow it. So, he took a painful step forward.

 

 

Minjun took a desperate step towards the exit, but a strong arm caught him at his nape and pulled him back inside their cave. He fell down on his back and slid a few inches backwards. Frowning and opening his eyes, he saw his brother’s face staring at him upside down.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Jaebeom frowned, giving Minjun a clearly judging eye. “It’s almost dawn,” it was autumn and the days were getting shorter, but there was this distinct smell of morning dew coming into their cave from the outside, and being a vampire of almost 900 years old, Jaebeom knew the indications of that scent way too well.

“But I can’t stay in here,” Minjun whined, feeling a heavy stone placed onto his chest. “Hyung, can’t you feel it? Master is in pain! He might be dying for all we know…”

“That’s why we have to stay here, together,” Jaebeom cut in kneeling in front of his younger sibling and helping him sit up. “I feel it too,” he added in a softer voice. “And I know it’s bad, but it’s our master we’re talking about. Don’t take him lightly. Whatever is going on, he foresaw it, that’s why he ordered us to stay here together. If we’re apart, the pain is harder to handle,” he gently stroked Minjun’s shoulder.

“I don’t like it,” Minjun grumbled looking away from the shorter vampire, focusing on nothing in particular on a grey stony wall of their small cave.

“Well, neither do I, but master’s orders are…” he hushed suddenly looking up, his eyebrows knotting in a confused frown. “What…”

Minjun jumped up to his feet immediately. He wanted to go outside, he felt it. He felt his master getting nearer to their hideout. He was approaching fast, but the sun was almost up, and his self-preservation instinct overrode the imprint call. He waited patiently, as his senses made him more confused with every passing second. It was like the imprint had been split; he couldn’t put his finger on it.

“Why are there…” he turned to look at Jaebeom.

“Two presences?” Jaebeom finished his sentence equally perplexed.

Before they could say anything else, two figures literally fell into their cave, whooshing through the entrance. They were dressed in long dark robes, thick hoods obscuring them from sunlight, but even in the early morning lukewarm sunrays, Minjun could smell the smoulder. Someone had been close to catching fire. That was a close call.

The bigger and stronger figure got up from the ground helping his companion stand up, and as they took off their hoods, Minjun’s mind momentarily went blank.

He didn’t know what to make of it. There was his master, paler than pale and obviously barely alive. He was keeping himself upright through the sheer power of will. And then next to him, there was Jihoon, or Prince Taejo as they called him now, with traces of blood all over his face. He looked devastated. He obviously had been crying. And feeding. And…

“You bastard!” Jaebeom roared lunging at Jihoon and nailing him against the wall, baring his fangs at him.

Minjun hurried to his master because without Jihoon’s support he would’ve collapsed to the ground. Master Hudun looked even worse from up close. Minjun looked back at Jaebeom and Jihoon at the other side of the cave.

“The hell you did that!?” Jaebeom screamed, knocking the taller vampire into the stony wall.

“Hyung, what are you...?” Minjun was beyond confused, he’d always considered Jihoon to be their ally.

“Can’t you feel it, Minjun-ah?” Jaebeom growled, still clutching at Jihoon’s robes. “The second presence, it’s him,” he thumped him into the wall again. “He’s freakin’ got the final imprint.”

“Final…” Minjun gasped, unable to believe his ears and a whole batch of his other senses. “Why…?”

“Because I asked him to,” despite the deplorable condition that his body was in, Master Hudun’s voice was strong and steady. “Let him go, Jaebeom-ah.”

Jihoon flopped onto the ground because Jaebeom released him too suddenly caught by surprise. He turned to look at his master, his eyes wide open, full of disbelief.

“Why would you ever do that?” he asked, his voice strained. “It’s a suicide.”

“I figured that if this was the end, at least someone should have a use of it,” Master Hudun smiled eyeing Jihoon with an unmistakable warmth and affection. Jihoon slowly got up to his feet.

“Master, what are you…” Minjun choked. “You can’t… take me before it’s too late, you can’t…”

“It is too late,” Master Hudun squeezed Minjun’s shoulder. “I asked Jihoon to bring me back to you two before it was completely over… so I could leave with dignity.”

“I wanted to roam free,” Jaebeom clenched his fists, blood flooding his eyes. “But not at this cost.”

“You have to forgive me,” Hudun weighed down his head. “It’s no longer my world out there, this struggle for power would’ve sucked me in eventually, but it is not my world.”

“What about us?” Minjun wailed, his face already drenched in blood-red tears. “Why… so suddenly…”

“I don’t think it would’ve been better had I told you beforehand,” the master smiled. “I am 3000 years old, Minjun-ah, I think I deserve some rest.”

“But it’s… it’s…”

“You sure have a way with your life, old man,” Jaebeom sniffed wiping away his tears and smudging his hand with blood in process.

“You two have stayed with me far longer than any progeny usually stays with their maker,” Hudun gently pushed Minjun away, stroking his cheek and walking towards Jaebeom. “For that, I am grateful, and there are no words I could say that I could atone for what I’ve done, but…” his hand gripped his Jaebeom’s neck and he pulled their foreheads together.

“You three are now the only ones,” he moved away from Jaebeom and walked past Jihoon, his hand brushing lightly against his chest. Jihoon said no word; he stood there silently gripped with guilt. Master Hudun stopped and seemed to waver, as if he had remembered something. As if something tugged at him from a very distant past.

“There are… traces in my blood that I’ve never had a chance to tell you about…” he took a few steps towards the exit. “But you three are the only ones who have my direct imprint,” he stood at the exit and turned to look back at them, giving them a warm smile. “Use it well,” and he walked out into the light.

“No,” Minjun’s eyes widened. “No, no, wait, what are you doing,” he scrambled after him, but fell down to his knees as a terribly heavy load hit his chest once again, far greater than the one he had felt an hour ago.

“Argh, no,” tears ran down his cheeks as he stubbornly crawled towards the exit, towards the strip of light on the stony floor. Just when he was about to go outside, someone grabbed him at his shoulders and pulled him back. Minjun merely managed to catch a glimpse of his master’s silhouette engulfed in blue flames with the corner of his eye.

“No,” he breathed being held close to a firm chest, the arms around his shoulders strong and warm. He felt horrible, terrible, lost. But in the vampire’s embrace, he had to admit the imprint was working: the pain was going away, or at least it seemed lighter, less severe. Minjun looked up expecting to see his brother, but that was Jihoon, his face wrought in pain and sorrow.

Jaebeom was standing next to them. His fists clenched and his body straight, looking at nothing in particular with traces of tears on his cheeks. His handsome, delicate face gave away nothing, but grief and resolution.

 

 

_Edinburgh, present day_

 

He sat on the floor his long legs spread wide in front of him, covered in black Adidas joggers with white stripes on the sides. Leaning forward, he caught his trainer-shod feet with his hands and pulled himself even lower, basically reaching the floor with his nose. One of the things he noticed after the turn was that he could tell apart almost every single muscle and sinew in his body. How it worked and tensed, and how it bended and stretched. He sometimes wondered where was the limit.

“Done!!” Taec announced somersaulting backwards in front of the mirror.

Wooyoung looked up from the floor not even bothering to raise his whole upper body. He had given his hyung a task to do a hundred body waves in a row in human speed until he had perfected the move. Taec happily fluttered towards their maknae, his outfit being almost identical to Wooyoung’s save for the fact that he was wearing a distinctly orange tank-top, while Wooyoung had gone for a calm bluish one.

“Great,” the youngling said when Taec flopped onto the floor in front of him.

They were back in the warehouse again, in the middle of the night. This time without Khun. Wooyoung was thrilled.

“Are you set to go on, or do you want to get some rest…” he then hushed abruptly, realizing he’d just uttered a total nonsense. “Oh right… vampires don’t need to rest,” and he banged his head onto the floor.

“Now, now, now,” Taec leaned forward, pushing Wooyoung off the floor until the youngling sat up straight in front of him. “Vampires need to rest sometimes. We can even break a sweat if we want to.”

“Uh-huh, if you want to,” Wooyoung crossed his legs and leaned his right elbow onto his thigh, resting his cheek on his hand. “Let me guess, it’s a sex thing again?” he gave Taec an inquiring eye.

“Bingo,” Taec snapped his fingers, digging his other hand deep into his trousers pocket. Wooyoung scoffed.

“Why am I not surprised,” he rolled his eyes. “Vampires are quite simple, aren’t they?”

“Well,” out of his pocket, Taec pulled a crispy bar of something that looked very much like chocolate. Wooyoung frowned. “If you don’t have any ambition and a good head on your shoulders,” Taec ripped the wrapping and pushed the chocolate-like bar out. He broke it into two pieces. “Then life really is just that: eat, play, fuck, sleep, eat, play, fuck, sleep…” he offered one bar to Wooyoung. “But when you think of it, human life isn’t so much different, hmm?” he raised his eyebrows. Wooyoung took the brown bar and sniffed it suspiciously. He glanced at Taec as if he was out of his mind.

“Hyung?” he asked showing him the bar.

“It’s ok,” Taec grinned, biting on his own helping. “It’s edible. It’s a human food supplement with dried cattle blood. We’re able to digest that too.”

The younger vampire took a tentative bite, munching on a slightly gummy substance. He thought for a while.

“Sweet,” Wooyoung said eventually.

Taec grinned. He was almost done with his bar already. Wooyoung had to admit he missed this particular part of dance rehearsals. Working together, sweating together, and then after the practice just sitting down onto the floor in a circle with his pals, and gobbling down the food they had ordered or brought from home. Now, it was only the two of them; they were munching on weird food supplement with dried cow blood, and there was no sweat spilt, but just a little bit, just by a tiny fraction, Wooyoung felt like home.

“And yeah…” he shoved the rest of the bar into his mouth. “You’re right about the ambition, play, and fuck part,” he munched on the brown substance, his cheeks puffing out. “But speaking of which,” even with his mouth full, he didn’t mumble. “What did Amber mean with that “virgin babies” thing the other day?”

Taec stared. He wondered if he was supposed to tell him. Well, he sure was responsible for this kid, but he really wanted to spend the rest of the night dancing and not talking about complicated vampire customs and blood relations.

“You sure you wanna go through this right now?” he asked. “It’s kinda “the talk.” Might take up some time.”

Wooyoung, his cheeks still puffed with the food supplement inside his mouth, put his hands behind his well-formed pretty ears, pointing them at Taec.

“I’m all ears,” he blinked.

 

 

_England, 1993_

 

The other children ran away from her screaming, and a distinct thought came to life inside her head, something in between the lines that joining this game was a bad idea. Slopping down the muddy country road in her rain boots, she followed after the gang that had already disappeared behind the bend of the road, because, after all, she was “it” and she had to tag someone. Before it started raining again.

Looking around at the bushes and trees at both sides of the road, Yena decided to make a shortcut. The bushes and trees looked huge, the plants loomed way above her head, but she knew the surroundings pretty well. After all, she’s been spending every single summer of her life in the countryside, and at a respectable age of 6, she was already a big lady, mature enough to take care of herself.

Pursing her lips and splashing through the mud on the road, she walked straight towards the thick lush bushes on her left, and lowered herself onto the ground, ready to crawl through it. She ignored the wet grass under her hands, and branches and twigs scraping at her exposed knees and face, messing up her hair.

By the time she emerged on the other side, she had multiple scratches on her legs and her hair looked like a bird’s nest, but she stood on a hill in front of a wide meadow and she could see the kids running down the road towards the village.

It was beginning to rain, but Yena had saved herself quite some time by making a very direct shortcut, so she ignored the cuts and bruises on her body, and the rain pelting down onto her head. Grinning widely to herself, she scrambled up to her feet and brushed random twigs and leaves off her t-shirt and shorts. Ready to go, she looked up.

And she made no move. There was a man there. A dark man. As in, all covered in dirt, from head to toes, as if he had just emerged from a big hole in the ground. Only the whites of his eyes were shining on his muddy face.

Yena stared. She didn’t see that his wet and muddy shoulder-length hair was stuck to his scalp and skin, she didn’t see that his rags were so dirty one couldn’t tell where the skin ended and the cloth began, she didn’t even question how come she hadn’t heard him approach or where on earth he came from. She just stared up at him, all the more so that the man grinned and his big white teeth shone even brighter than his eyes. All the girl could think of was “all the better to eat you with.”

She didn’t see him pounce, it was too fast, but she knew he did it. The girl’s breath stuck in her throat, and she thought that the man was softer than she expected him to be. Wet, for sure, but her shoulder rested on a soft… chest?

Yena opened her eyes. She understood she was being held, and the girl looked up to see a young woman’s face. She had steel-blue eyes; her wet hair clung to her cheeks and forehead, looking darker than it really was; there were bruises and burns on her cheekbones and high nose. Her relatively thin lips were pressed together as she glared daggers at the man.

“Fangs off the child,” she said holding Yena close to herself.

The dirt man snarled, obviously not being glad to see her. Yet the young lady took a step back embracing the little girl tighter, and she growled at the man, baring her upper teeth. Yena shivered as she felt the rumble in the woman’s chest when the growl escaped her mouth. It was something… enticing.

“Fangs off the child or  _else_ ,” the woman said again placing a great emphasis on the last word.

The man, realizing he had lost this one, gave her one last seething glare and disappeared so fast Yena didn’t understand he was running or flying or both. She just felt the tension in the woman’s body ease as she put the girl down onto the ground.

“There,” she said kneeling down to match Yena’s eye level and giving her a tender smile. “Are you ok?”

Fear struck her down belatedly and Yena just felt she couldn’t breathe. Her little chest heaved up and down, up and down, but it seemed like no air come in or out. The woman’s dark brows knitted in a worried frown. The girl was hyperventilating.

“Ok now,” the woman reached out taking Yena’s hand into hers, touching and massaging the little palm. “It’s alright, he’s gone now. You’re safe. I’ll stay with you until the rain stops, if you want,” her fingers on the palm felt grounding, reassuring, and soothing. “Nothing’s gonna hurt you. Calm down… are we better now?”

Yena knew that it wasn’t the way to calm her down, but surprisingly enough, she felt better. The air was back in her lungs, and the girl could take a closer look at her rescuer.

She could’ve sworn that there was a bigger burn on her left cheek just a minute ago, but now it seemed smaller. The woman was wearing a dark waterproof robe with a hood, and it looked somewhat too stuffy for the summer, but Yena wasn’t about to question that. The rain was pelting on her head, and she began shivering.

“Oh…” the woman seemingly realized what the deal was.

She looked around searching for any hideout, but there was nothing decent at a close range, save for the bushes and trees. Pursing her lips, she eyed a big tree with broad branches and thick leaves, standing the closest to them. She glanced back at Yena.

“Come,” she said taking the child into her arms and literally soaring up onto the biggest branch under the thickset of broad leaves. It was relatively dry there.

“It’s not safe to stay under a tree when it’s raining,” the girl mumbled slightly perplexed, totally forgetting that this was no thunderstorm. However, she didn’t question how this young woman here managed to get into the tree so fast. Perhaps she was just that good at jumping.

The woman chuckled quietly, making herself comfortable as she leaned into the tree trunk, unbuckling her coat and pulling Yena closer. The girl found herself resting against a cotton t-shirt and a relatively lukewarm body.

“I know it’s a bit chilly,” the woman said and her chest vibrated again even though her voice wasn’t on the lower side of the scale. Yena put her ear closer to listen to it. “But wait a little bit, I’ll take care of it,” she reclined back her head, concentrating and breathing out. Rain glistened on her pale neck. “I can’t go with you to the village,” she said with her eyes closed. “And I can’t let you go now, lest he should return, so I guess… we need to wait for the rain to stop,” opening her eyes, she looked down at Yena in her lap. “Then you can go home alone.”

“Why can’t you?” the girl blinked. The woman smiled.

“I can’t go out in the sun, I’m…” she hesitated, and then smiled again. “You could say I’m ill, I guess…” turning her head to the left, she exposed the biggest burn on her right cheek. “See? This is what happens if I go out in the sun.”

Yena looked at her curiously and then reached out her hand to touch the burn. Her fingertips left timid fleeting touches at the edges of the wound.

“Does it hurt?” the girl asked pursing her lips and frowning.

“A little,” the woman nodded. “But I’ll be ok,” she assured smiling tenderly. Yena sighed. She looked down, putting her little hands into her small lap.

“I’m ill too,” she said. The woman blinked giving her a questioning eye, and Yena pointed at her bruised knees. The right one still had a deep bleeding gash. “Bad blood,” she said.

The woman sniffed and swallowed a lump inside her throat, although she didn’t seem agitated or out of control. She looked absolutely calm.

“Now,” resting Yena’s head on her own shoulder, the woman got closer to the girl’s knee. “Don’t be afraid,” and she leaned down, gently licking the blood off Yena’s knee.

The girl wondered why suddenly this lady started acting like a dog, but she struggled to remain calm, because, to be honest, that tickled. However, the most amazing thing was that when the lady pulled back, it didn’t sting anymore. Yena blinked staring at her knee, watching the wound close little by little.

She looked up at the lady, who wiped off her lips and swallowed the remainder of the blood, wincing slightly, as if she’d tasted something very sour.

“Are you a witch?” Yena asked. The lady laughed.

“No, kiddo, I’m not a witch,” she pinched her cheek. “And you need to be careful; your blood really isn’t the best. Eat healthy.”

“I do,” Yena pursed her lips. “I eat what Mum gives me,” she blinked examining the lady’s face. “Your… these things on your face…” she pointed at the burns. “They were getting smaller, but now it stopped…”

“Oh,” the lady pulled Yena close to herself, putting the girl’s head onto her chest. She was warm now. “Let’s stay like this for a while to keep you from cold…” her hand absent-mindedly began pulling out the twigs from Yena’s fair hair.

“What is your name?” the girl asked taking in the soft scent that was coming off the lady’s shirt. Yena liked things that smelled nice.

“Emma, what is yours?” the soft hand in her hair was definitely soothing her. The lady’s voice sounded like an accompaniment to the pelting rain, playing drums on the tree’s leaves.

“I’m Yena.”

“Why, that’s a beautiful name.”

“My friends sometimes laugh at it.”

“Why?”

“They say it’s… Japan… something…” the little girl shrugged, feeling the lady getting warmer. She didn’t notice the burns and cuts on her face grow bigger.

“Japanese?” the Emma lady cradled Yena as if she’d done it hundreds of times before. “I guess it does sound somewhat Asian. Maybe your parents just heard it somewhere and picked it up?” she mused.

Yena blinked slowly. Her eyelids were getting heavier with every second, and it was hard to understand what this Emma lady was talking about. But she sounded a little bit distant, like they were never going to see each other again.

“Won’t you come around and play with me?” Yena mumbled, closing her eyes.

“You’d like that?” she seemed to be surprised to hear that. Yena nodded instead of answering out loud. Emma smiled.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Before dosing off, Yena picked up a faint lone heartbeat. A thump reverberating against her ear. She didn’t find it peculiar or out of the ordinary, but as her brain shut off for an unusual afternoon nap on a tree under a pelting rain in the warm embrace of this unfamiliar young woman, the child realized that before, when Emma had been lukewarm, she had no heartbeat at all.

 

 

_Edinburgh, present day_

The living-room was drowning in dim twilight with the lights glowing just at 30% of their full capacity, but that didn’t prevent him from reading. Chansung leisurely turned over a page of his book, sitting comfortably in the armchair, his back leaned against the soft backrest, his right ankle resting on his left knee. His black hair was pulled back from his forehead with a narrow silver band, making him look like he was about to apply extensive make-up, but he simply he didn’t want his hair to get into his eyes.

He could hear Yena working in the kitchen. She was probably doing experiments with their blood again. She would say that their blood reacts really funny to each other because of the imprints they carried. Currently, her most frequent victims were Taec, Junho, and Wooyoung. Taec’s mix of imprints happened to be the most impressive. He had a whole rainbow of them, while Junho had skipped a few steps (namely Khun and Taec) and got his imprint straight from Chansung. The most amazing thing, Yena noted, was that even so, Junho’s blood would still react to Taec’s. Imprints were that strong. She sometimes wanted to draw an imprint chart for the coven, but Minjun would stop her saying some important links were missing.

Junho was currently with Yena in the kitchen as well, holding a sample of Wooyoung’s blood, waiting for it to be put under a powerful microscope already plugged to the computer. Wooyoung didn’t have an imprint and that made him an interesting test specimen. Not to mention that he was able to survive mostly on non-human blood. Even Junho found it fascinating to see how different Wooyoung’s blood was.

It seemed to be pure and it looked like it was acquiring properties different to the ones usually found in the vampire blood. He was developing on his own. Junho didn’t know if it was good or bad, but he thought he was beginning to get addicted to all this experiment stuff because he was thinking of all the different ways he could put that little drop of his so-called twin’s blood to a test. He just hoped Yena wouldn’t disappoint, and she sure didn’t when she raised a pipette with a small amount of silvery liquid in it. Junho’s eyes widened. He heard Mercury was even more dangerous than silver. Not to mention toxic to humans.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” he asked watching her closely. Yena turned to look at him, a wry smile on her otherwise soft features.

“We all are going to die someday,” she smirked. “Even you guys. So, what the hell…” and she plopped a drop of quicksilver onto Wooyoung’s blood sample.

Chansung smiled when he heard Junho hiss in the kitchen. Vampire blood reaction to quicksilver was sure a spectacle to behold.

Memorizing the page and closing the book, Chansung leaned closer to the small table in front of him, putting the book aside. There was a brush and an inkpot on the table, along with a stack of A5 size sheets of paper sown together into something that resembled an old book. He had made it himself a day earlier, right after he came back from Korea.

Taking the empty book and opening the first page to the right, Chansung ran his hand over the surface of the paper, trying to make it smoother. Then he took the brush and dipped it into the black inkpot, and he hovered his hand gracefully over the paper and began jotting down Chinese characters in a neat handwriting, making blocks of words in Middle Korean, adding grammatical Hangeul here and there when the Chinese characters could no longer represent the specifics of the Korean language.

He didn’t need to look up the contents of the book he was copying. He knew everything by heart. When he was about to go into another round of miniature yangban calligraphy on the second page, his phone vibrated sending the table into a jittery fit. Chansung heaved a sigh of relief glad he didn’t spoil the manuscript, and he put the brush aside, reaching out for his phone at the other side of the table. He didn’t even bother to check the caller’s ID. He loved the element of surprise.

“I’m listening,” he said, leaning comfortably back into the armchair.

“I took care of Junho when you were in Korea,” Khun said out of the blue on the other end. Chansung cocked one noble eyebrow.

“And?”

“And now I need you to return the favour,” he breathed falling silent. Chansung wanted to say that it wasn’t so much of a favour, rather a mere act of filial piety, but the noise coming from his phone made him concentrate.

“What is that?” Chansung knew the patterns of the noise even though he rarely visited those places. “You’re at a hospital?”

“Bobby got attacked,” Khun explained. “She’s ok though. Surprisingly, she was armed, and I got there on time.”

“Armed?” Chansung sat up straight at the news. He didn’t like their humans threatened by other vampires.

“Silver fork,” Khun supplied and Chansung chuckled. That girl was really something. “So, I’m wondering,” Khun continued. “If you could teach her the basics at least. I’m busy, and you’re the best.”

“You don’t need to praise me,” the elder vampire smiled. “You know I’m up for it, just tell me where and when.”

“One of my warehouses. As soon as she gets better.”

“Which warehouse?” Chansung asked when the noise on Khun’s side got louder and he didn’t answer. “Khun?”

“I… I need to go,” he sounded urgent. “Taec will tell you. He knows. I’m sorry, I’ll… I’ll see you later,” and he hung up.

Chansung stared at his phone dumbly. Then he glanced back at the brush and the book he’d begun copying from his memory. Pursing his lips, he leaned over the armrest to see the kitchen better.

“Where’s Taec?” he called, knowing the two scientists could hear him just fine.

“Out with Wooyoung in one of Khun-hyung’s warehouses,” Junho called back and Chansung glanced at the big clock on the wall. It was close to 3am.

“What for?” he asked.

“Dance practice,” Yena replied this time.

For a second there, he had a sudden urge to make her go to bed instead of making freaky experiments, but Chansung knew her too well, and she would’ve never obeyed him. Plus, her daily rhythm was pretty much messed up anyways. He sometimes would catch himself thinking that Yena was more vampiric than any true vampire.

He then considered calling Taec, but it was not like he would go and check the warehouse immediately, so Chansung just put his phone onto the table mumbling “Ah, later,” and took the brush back into his hand. However, he had managed to draw just two more characters when his phone vibrated again. Carefully putting the brush away, he grabbed his phone again, a crease forming in between his eyebrows as he frowned.

“Hello?”

“Please tell me this prince guy of yours is a nice guy or at least extremely good-looking,” his ear was assaulted by a sudden rant in a sonorous young voice. He almost choked.

“He has manners and he is very good-looking,” Chansung said. “Why?”

“Amber is sending me back to Korea again,” Emma whined. “To extend her personal thanks to the prince. I was so glad to be home… he’s gonna start stalking me again…” one could think she was on the verge of crying.

“The prince?” Chansung blinked perplexed.

“No, that kid… remember? The one I was with in Dongdaemun?” Emma sighed. “He’s a familiar, so he’ll know I’m back even if they don’t assign him to me…”

“He didn’t follow you back to the UK, so he can’t be THAT fixated,” Chansung pointed out.

“Well, that’s maybe because he’s seventeen and doesn’t have a passport!” Emma grumbled.

“Sooner or later,” Chansung settled more comfortably into his armchair. “Just face him. Didn’t you say there’s a lot of humans to fuck around with? Have some human fun.”

“He’s bloody illegal!!” she hissed.

“Weren’t you younger than that when you were turned?” Chan said calmly.

“When I was turned, people his age would already have two kids and a few battle scars.”

Chansung shrugged even though Emma couldn’t see him.

“Life was harder back then… anyway, you’re going for a long while?”

“A few months, I think. Amber said I must present myself to the Prince properly and blah blah, and all that crap.”

“No, honestly, Jihoon-hyung’s ok,” Chansung chuckled. “And, wait…” something crossed his mind. “A few months?” he felt a tight knot in his stomach, something dark and possessive tugging at him, and he didn’t like it. “You don’t think Amber might be planning on using your… um… condition as a bait?”

“She might as well…” Emma sounded thoughtful. “But good luck trying. I don’t have any interest in marriage and I’m free. I’m staying at her side because of the ties and out of pure habit, but the final imprint really isn’t the reason enough to make me do anything. I haven’t even sworn my allegiance to her. I can leave whenever I want to… but after all, she kind of raised me and… stuff…”

“Stuff,” Chansung chuckled, his eyes travelling over the brush and the book. “Oh, by the way, you know what; I was in the middle of copying some old texts for you. I guess I’ll have to send it to you by mail or something, if you’re staying in Korea for a few months.”

“Really?!” she sounded excited. “Aw man, I really wanted to read that… and I don’t even know where I’ll be staying, so I can’t tell you the address yet.”

“It’s ok,” a soft smile was playing on Chansung’s lips. “I’ll send it to Joon, he’ll know how to find you.”

“Thanks.”

“And if you’re staying there for a few months,” a mischievous smile played on the corners of his lips. “Wouldn’t that kid be legal by then?”

Emma growled on the other end.

“You’re having too much fun with it, I shouldn’t have told you anything,” her voice was dark and thunderous.

“I just find it cute that you have an itch to scratch,” he wasn’t sure what he was saying, but whatever. It just left his mouth before he could even stop himself. Emma scoffed.

“If that was only an itch, I’d let you scratch it.”

“…” Chansung stared at the tip of the brush. His left hand clenched involuntarily. “I’m honoured, but I don’t think I could…”

“Liar,” Emma snorted. Chansung wasn’t sure which part of his statement she considered a lie.

“Wanna bet?”

“The funny thing here,” she said and she didn’t sound amused at all. “Is that I could call your bluff, and your stupid noble idiot head would go through it.”

There was a light tingling at the back of his neck, and Chansung found it unnerving how right she was.

“Mutual benefit?” Chansung suggested.

“Perhaps,” he heard a smile in her voice. “But you’re my friend, Hwang Chansung. And I get extremely possessive of my benefits. That’s not something I want my friends to go through.”

“Can I at least expect an update on the kid? In this age of modern technology?” he asked lightly.

“You’re unbelievable,” Emma laughed. “I’ll text you.”

“Alright,” he chuckled. “Later.”

“Later.”

He slowly put his phone down on the table and leaned comfortably against the armchair. Yena and Junho bickered quietly in the kitchen over the amount of quicksilver for the next test. The clock on the wall slowly ticked away with the time that never stopped. And Hwang Chansung took several minutes to mull over the thousands of chilly yet oddly exciting shiver ants that had run from his shoulder blades down to the small of his back the moment she’d said “possessive.”

 

 

***

 

“Earth to Ok Taecyeon,” Wooyoung snapped his fingers in front of Taec’s face. “Hello?”

“I know, I know,” Taec caught the youngling’s wrists, shaking his head. “I was just thinking of the best way to put it,” he looked away. Wooyoung slid closer, his knees almost touching Taec’s.

“You know, if you find it uncomfortable to talk about it,” he pursed his thin lips together watching his hyung’s thoughtful face. “You don’t have to.”

“Nah, nah,” Taec grinned, playing with Wooyoung’s fingers and then pushing his hands away. “It’s not like I’m your dad about to tell you how your mom and I…”

Wooyoung pulled back, his face contorting like a traditional Korean mask.

“Mental image, hyung,” he shook his head, reaching out his hand indicating Taec to stop with that sentence. “Mental image…” 

“Sorry,” Taec chuckled, composing himself as quickly as possible. “Alright, let’s look at it this way. What’s the most important thing to a vampire?”

“Blood?” Wooyoung guessed.

“Correct,” Taec nodded, drawing circles on the floor with his lean fingers. “Vampire’s blood is their… passport so to speak. A hard drive that stores your life data. It registers the changes you go through and the different stages of your life. Your blood right now must be extremely pure without any infusion because you don’t even have an imprint. If you kept on going like this, decades later your blood would be extremely valuable, but it’s kind of hard…”

“Why?” for some reason, Wooyoung suddenly wanted to prove he could go on without this imprint thing for as long as possible.

“Ok, so,” Taec scratched his head, this seemed rather messy to him. “Geez, it’s really something you learn in practice, it’s hard to explain. So, like… when you drink human… or any other living thing blood for that matter, the composition of your blood stays the same because it’s just food. But if you drink vampire blood, that leaves a mark in you.”

“Don’t vampires feed on each other though?” Wooyoung asked. “This infusion thing should be really common, shouldn’t it?”

“Not really,” Taecyeon shrugged. “You’d be surprised. Vampires seldom feed on each other. I mean, we do nibble a lot, but it’s just to get a taste, and it doesn’t change anything. And feeding usually happens within the same imprint circle. If you feed on someone else outside of your clan, it’s just a weird kink. I guess it used to be a lot more common in the old days when blood baths were a daily (ha-ha!)” he guffawed. “Routine, but not so much anymore.”

“But?” Wooyoung had a feeling Taec was going round in circles.

“Well, there’s one instinct that’s hard to fight, and that eventually gives us three basic infusion methods that leave a permanent mark on your blood data,” Taec raised his forefinger. “One, the initial imprint, which you get when you feed on your maker… or not,” he shrugged. “Two,” his middle finger shot up. “The final imprint, when you drain another vampire, usually in a duel, thus gaining part of their blood info and their experience, and three,” he raised another finger. “Sex.”

Wooyoung angled his head, slowly connecting the dots.

“That would imply,” he began. “That you have to bite your partner.”

“Correct,” Taec nodded.

“What if I don’t want to bite them?” Wooyoung asked, feeling slightly vexed that a vampire body seemed to have a very unruly mind of its own.

“Well, then you don’t,” Taecyeon shrugged. “If you excel in self-control, or you bite on your own arm or something.”

Wooyoung scrunched his nose in disgust.

“The instinct to bite is very strong and very hard to control,” Taec continued looking at the floor. “So, whether you like it or not, you almost always end up biting the person you’re… with.”

“So…” Wooyoung was thinking. “In case… if you’re with a human, that doesn’t leave a mark in your blood.”

“Correct, but if you fail at control, you might as well kill the person, so it’s not recommended for young vampires to go for human partners, at least nowadays,” Taec shrugged. “And vampire relationship also comes with several levels.”

“How so?” to Wooyoung, it all sounded like a complicated chemical experiment. 

“The venom,” Taec suggested. “If a vampire has the venom, their blood leaves a bigger mark, and vice versa. And then there’s this higher stage, when two vampires mate. Usually, only the older ones go for it. They both inject their venom when they bite, and that fuse changes your blood composition the most. The venom is strong enough to leave a scar. So, when you see a vampire with a scar, they either have it from their human life, or it’s a mating scar.”

“When do you acquire the venom?” Wooyoung asked. “Do you have it?”

“Nah,” Taec laughed. “I’m too young. Venom is like the ultimate sign of maturity, and its acquisition varies, but usually, when a vampire hits 200… they already have it.”

Wooyoung sat with his legs crossed, staring at the ground.

“So, when Amber said that Junho and I were virgins… she meant that we were…” he was looking for the right expression here. “Blood virgins, right? And our previous experience before the turn didn’t matter… right?”

“Why,” Taec leaned closer patting Wooyoung on the head, grinning. “You’re a very bright kid. Correct. And don’t sweat about it. Blood virgin isn’t such a bad thing. You know,” he leaned in closer as if he was about to spill his biggest secret. “I know someone who only has her imprints in her. She’s almost 800 years old, and she’s never had a vampire mate… You cannot imagine how much everyone’s hankering for her blood. Must feel like a very old exquisite whiskey or something.”

“That’s some complicated stuff,” Wooyoung noted getting up to his feet. “Don’t know if I’d like to apply it to practice,” he trimmed his blue tank-top pulling it down, as it had curled up around his waist too much. Taec stood up chuckling.

“At least you didn’t say you’d like to apply it to practice as soon as possible. Then I would be worried.”

Wooyoung gave him a fleeting glance and then walked towards the mirrors. He stared at his own reflection thoughtfully.

“You might not believe me,” he began watching Taec come closer in the mirror. “But I really am a stay-at-home type. I’d rather stay indoors with the people I know than just go out to some random club full of unfamiliar faces,” he looked at his hand. “Chansung really didn’t need to bite me. I don’t wander off…”

“Chansung nibbled you?” Taec asked curiously.

“Yeah, so he could track me down,” Wooyoung nodded turning around to face Taec and offering the taller vampire his hand. “You want some too? To make your surveillance fail-proof?”

Taec smiled pushing Wooyoung’s hand away.

“Nah, only Chansung can do that. Such a small amount of blood seldom leaves any trace, but Chansung’s a tracker. One lick or one sniff of it… and he memorizes it forever,” Taec shrugged. “I guess he’s got so much stored in his head, that…” he shook his head. “Never mind. Are we up for the practice again?” he asked hopefully.

“Sure,” Wooyoung nodded turning back to the mirror. “We’re done with the waves, but let’s add some complexity to them, and see how your hips work, I hope they’re not too rusty,” the youngling grinned. “How’s YOUR blood data on that one?”

“Why you little…” Taecyeon narrowed his eyes, but couldn’t say anything else because Wooyoung looked away from him, facing the mirror again.

“This time, you do a wave and end it with a little twist, like this,” he moved his whole upper body in a flexible fluid wave, rippling all the way down from his shoulders, to his ribcage and waist, and then ending it all with a sharp and accurate jerk of his hips. Taec blinked.

“You’ve sure had a lot of practice, haven’t you?” he whistled. Wooyoung rolled his eyes with an annoyed “tsk” escaping his lips.

“It’s called inborn talent,” he folded his arms across his chest. “I’ve always been like that even before the turn…” he shook his head. “Anyways,” he pointed his chin at Taec. “Get to work, hyung.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! A regular updating schedule ^^  
> This chapter works like a transition and exposition, but I still had some fun changing dialogue here and there, and dropping sparks because I felt like it 8D
> 
> I hope you like it, and see you next week.
> 
>  
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Egle0702)


	8. #8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🔷 Junho feeds.  
> 🔷 Minjun goes out for a ride.

_Edinburgh, present day_

 

Bruno began rubbing into his legs and Junho looked down at the black animal that was paying him respects for his size. The fact that Bruno was up also meant it was early morning already. Junho glanced up at the round white clock on the far wall left to the door. It was close to 5am. The blinds on the kitchen windows were shut tight and there were still a few hours left until sunrise, but Junho was a little bit worried. Not about himself though.

There were dozens of shallow and round petri dishes on the table in front of him, and Yena was still up, walking around the table, checking the reactions in the dishes, adding some more quicksilver to one dish or the other whenever she found it necessary. Junho found her somewhat suicidal. She looked paler than Nichkhun, but there was this fixation in her eyes, and Junho didn’t dare to mention her the time. Instead, he just scanned over the petri dishes in front of him, each with a sample of blood injected with a tiny drop of quicksilver.

Basically, the main ingredient in every shallow round dish was Wooyoung’s blood. One dish had Wooyoung’s blood mixed with quicksilver, and all the others had Wooyoung’s blood, quicksilver, and then additional drops of blood from every single member of the coven. The reason Yena had decided to go to such lengths was Wooyoung’s blood reaction to quicksilver. Usually, silver was more dangerous to vampires than mercury, but it was a lot easier and quicker to incapacitate a vampire with a direct injection of quicksilver into their system. It would never kill them, but it would take them down for a few agonizing hours as the mercury allergy was no joke.

Normally, if one was to add quicksilver to vampire blood, no matter how small the amount was, upon the contact with the blood, mercury molecules would start multiplying immensely using the vampire blood as a catalyst until eventually, the blood would look like a murky blob of silver. It was a sudden and severe infection, but it wasn’t lethal because the quicksilver would dissolve after a few hours. Yet it still could bring a vampire down for a while. However, whenever Wooyoung’s blood came in contact with quicksilver, it displayed a persistent resistance, not allowing the quicksilver molecules to multiply. If all the other blood samples with quicksilver looked like acute cases of severe influenza, Wooyoung’s was just a light cough and cold.

What was more frustrating, however, was that Yena decided to mix Wooyoung’s blood sample with the samples of the rest of them, and whenever those mixtures were exposed to quicksilver, the infection was just as acute as usual. Eventually, Yena and Junho came to a conclusion that it was the imprint or the additional blood data that accelerated the quicksilver infection. It also led them to assume that the moment Wooyoung would get his imprint, this resistance to quicksilver would disappear.

“I’m still not fully convinced,” Yena mused scanning over the petri dishes on the table, a pipette in her hand. “Too bad I can’t extract the imprint DNA. Then I’d be sure if it’s the pure blood that’s more resistant to mercury,” she sighed putting the pipette down. “This bloody imprint changes the entire mapping, and I can see when it’s there, but I can’t pull it out and check what it really consists of,” she puffed a blonde stray strand off her eyes.

Her tight bun was loosening bit by bit, and even though she was wearing her glasses instead of the usual distinct coloured lenses, she could hardly see anymore.

“But I wonder…” she put her fist to her mouth. “Maybe I should mix it with human blood and then test with raw silver… and perhaps a mixture of aluminium and mercury alloy… and then quicksilver again…”

“If you continue doing this, we’ll run out of quicksilver,” Junho pointed out, saving all the research data on Yena’s laptop and contemplating whether he should turn the computer off. She looked up at him through the top of her dark-rimmed glasses.

“Well then, you’ll just go to the chemist’s and buy more of these decommissioned mercury thermometers,” she said.

“That’s illegal, and I think it’s about time to call it a night?” the youngling suggested. “Don’t take it personal, but you look kinda bad,” he sighed. Yena slammed her hands onto the table-top feeling absolutely frustrated.

“I just don’t get it,” she huffed. “Why quicksilver works with all the other mixtures except for Wooyoung’s.”

“So why don’t you…” Junho thought of the best way to say it, and he eventually switched into Korean knowing Yena would understand him. “Instead of mixing Wooyoung’s blood with the others’, how about just concentrate on his pure sample and its reaction to quicksilver? Like, maybe he has antibodies or something; you could create a vampire vaccine from quicksilver, get rich and famous, and all the other stuff…” he hushed noticing Yena stare at him. She blinked straightening up and pushing her glasses up her nose.

“I don’t want to be rich and famous, but that vaccine part is very interesting,” she clapped. “Alright, let’s clear this up and get to work,” she looked around, manic flames burning in her eyes. Junho growled, bringing his palm to his face.

“I meant like, let’s wrap it up for today and continue tomorrow,” he mumbled. “I’m shutting the computer down.”

“What?” Yena’s eyes widened. “Why? Don’t—”

“Hyung~!!” Junho called. “Nuna refuses to go to sleep!!”

Yena stared at him. Then she narrowed her eyes.

“Well that’s just low. Telling on me. To your hyung, how nice,” she rammed her hands into her waist right when Chansung’s head with his black hair pulled back and held by a sleek headband appeared from behind the kitchen door frame. He eyed Yena up and down, a distinct crease forming in between his eyebrows.

“I hate to tell you this,” he began. “But you look like crap. I strongly recommend taking a nap,” he then turned to look at Junho. “She rarely listens to me though,” Chansung added shrugging.

“Exactly,” Yena smirked smugly focusing on Junho. “So, you’d better turn that computer on again and start preparing the other glassware, because we…”

The front door banged.

“We’re home!!” came a cheerful announcement.

“… oh no…” Yena hid her face behind her hands forgetting she was wearing glasses and bruising her nose bridge in process. “Ow…”

Junho grinned mischievously; he knew exactly what to do. Taking the first few petri dishes into his big hands, ready to store them for the night (day?), he took a deep breath to make his voice louder.

“Hyung~! Nuna’s not going to sleep!”

True to his expectations, it was a matter of two seconds before Taecyeon appeared in the doorway with a blob of black shiny hair tagging along that was Wooyoung. Both dressed in dark joggers and white hoodies, they sure looked like they’ve just come back from a gym, except they didn’t reek of sweat; if anything, there was just a faint trace of exhaust gas and smoke in the air. City scents were quick to seep into one’s clothes.

Bruno was quick to check them in and rub around their legs. Taec eyed the scene in front of him with a distinct look of disbelief, while Wooyoung looked slightly indifferent.

“What,” Taec stared at Yena with his jaw slack, as if he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

Wooyoung merely glanced at Chansung on Taec’s right, his eyes silently asking what was going on, and Chansung simply shrugged as if to say ‘same old same old.’ Wooyoung nodded.

“What ‘what’?” Yena folded her arms across her chest, preparing for another round of banter with this geek.

“You’re still up?” he walked into the kitchen. “Are you out of your mind?”

“I need to finish this, ok?” she motioned at the table where Junho was already stealthily clearing everything off. “Yah, put the dishes down~!” she pointed at the youngling.

“I think it’s more like your job is gonna finish YOU off first, before you finish it,” Taec stood right in front of her, Yena had to look up a little bit to meet his eyes.

“And that is unacceptable… how?” she raised her chin in a challenge.

Taec blinked unable to believe this. He signed, closing his eyes and swallowing the little bit of saliva he had in his mouth. Turning back, he met Chansung’s eyes.

“It’s going to be sunny today, right?” all of a sudden Taec’s voice got notably lower. Yena felt an anxious warm squirming in her guts. Chansung nodded.

“So, it would seem,” he said.

If Taec’s brain had been a CPU, it would’ve been working at top speed at the moment. He cast a fleeting glance at the youngling standing next to Chansung.

“Wooyoung-ah~” he breathed.

Wooyoung didn’t need him to elaborate. Not bothering to fake being human, he zoomed around the kitchen in vampire speed, opening the fridge, pulling out a donor blood bag (AB Rh negative), and throwing it to Taec across the entire room. Taec caught it with his left hand up in the air and focused on Yena again. It all took less than 2 seconds.

Taec narrowed his eyes scanning Yena’s face. She didn’t like that because she didn’t know what was coming. She hated sudden changes.

“Then,” Taec uttered. “I’ll take a nap,” and he stooped down, his right arm locking around her thighs and loading her onto his right shoulder like a bag of potatoes. Yena squeaked. He stood up immediately as if she wasn’t almost Wooyoung’s size and he headed out of the kitchen.

“The hell!” Yena squealed. She wanted to kick, but her knees were locked tight in Taec’s grasp as he walked past Wooyoung. “Ok Taecyeon!!” she began squirming and thumping her fists into his back. Her stomach felt very uncomfortable with his shoulder ramming straight into it. “Put me down this instance!!”

“I would stop resisting if I were you,” he said calmly walking past Chansung and entering the hall. All the others piled at the kitchen doorstep to watch the scene unfolding in front of their eyes, as Taec began climbing up the stairs. “We all know what happens if you overreact: hyperventilation, lack of oxygen, asphyxia, loss of consciousness,” he recited it as a list of groceries to buy. “And we also know how serious I am when it comes to CPR, so it’s your choice.”

Yena froze immediately. She knew he wasn’t kidding. So, she just rammed her elbow into his back and rested her chin on her hand, looking absolutely frustrated. She looked up front, clearly blaming Junho for everything that happened. The youngling merely grinned, his eyes shrinking into adorable crescents. He then met Wooyoung’s gaze, and both new-borns, working hard to project the puppy-eyed image, raised their hands higher clenching them into fists and mouthed “Fighting~!” to their human nuna. Yena’s sour face disappeared behind the wall, as Taec turned right to cover the upper part of stairs.

“That went surprisingly… smooth,” Chansung noted, wondering if he should go back to copying the ancient book. He was almost done.

Junho wasted no time; he quickly went back into the kitchen and stored the samples away not bothering to clean the dishes because he knew Yena would still want to check them after she woke up. Wooyoung headed straight towards the fridge, opening it again and taking a jar full of blood. Junho froze with a microscope in his hands, watching Wooyoung check the jar.

“Dude…” he frowned. “What the hell?”

“What?” Wooyoung looked at him, shaking the jar. “I’m hungry.”

“But it’s full of decent stuff!” Junho motioned at the upper shelf stocked with donor blood bags. “Why take that crap,” he scrunched his nose at the jar, it was probably swine blood again.

“Hyung’s emergency stack,” Wooyoung pointed at the bags. “My daily storage,” he then motioned at the two shelves full of various jars. “And besides, swine blood isn’t that bad… it’s like…” he thought quietly while closing the fridge. “Low-fat milk.”

“You’re nuts,” Junho shivered storing the microscope away.

“Actually, he’s right,” Chansung leaned onto the door frame, having decided to linger for a while and see what these two younglings were up to. “When it comes to taste and nutrition, pig blood is the closest you can get to human blood.”

“Really?” Junho frowned looking back at Chansung while closing the cupboards and then heading towards the computer. It was the only lab equipment left on the table.

He had to avoid Bruno on his way, as the cat was anxiously prowling around. Wooyoung meanwhile opened the jar and glided to the other end of the kitchen to get his glass from the cupboard. His moves seemed so light and effortless that Chansung dismissed any possibility of showing off. Instead of questioning Wooyoung’s intentions, Chansung focused on Junho again.

“It’s true,” the elder nodded. “Pig red blood cells have characteristics similar to human red blood cells. I’m sure you’ve heard of xenotransfusion. Haven’t you studied that?”

“That’s kinda… gross,” Junho unplugged the computer. “And why is everyone so hung up on my major? I served; you know? Practically, I’m still a freshman.”

“Same,” Wooyoung swallowed down a gulp and nodded. Junho felt thankful. He looked at Chansung again.

“By the way, hyung, are you free right now?”

“You’re hungry?” Chansung guessed while Wooyoung quickly emptied the other half of the jar into his half-a-litre volume glass.

“Yes, I…” Junho lowered his head, for some reason feeling slightly embarrassed. Chansung gave him a soft smile, turning around on his heel and heading back to the living-room.

“You can go and hunt alone,” he said walking away. “I trust you. Just don’t wander off too far. The sun’s coming up in 3 hours and there’s not a single cloud in the sky.”

Junho stared with his jaw slack unable to believe his own ears, as he watched the elder go back into the living-room, sit back into the armchair, and take the brush into his hand. The house felt absolutely silent. Not a single sound came from the upstairs as well; Yena must’ve given up on trying arguing with Taec, and just gone to sleep.

Still slightly shell-shocked, Junho recoiled back on Wooyoung, who had stopped searching for a straw in the drawers also surprised at the sudden declaration that had escaped Chansung’s mouth. Junho stared Wooyoung straight in the eye as if hankering for his approval, too. Sometimes Junho felt he didn’t have the right to hunt when the person he shared his fate with tried his best to stay away from human blood. He felt guilty Wooyoung was sort of left out, and he felt even worse because Junho himself didn’t experience considerable pangs of conscience whenever he fed on humans.

“What are you waiting for?” Wooyoung clicked his tongue rolling his eyes as Junho didn’t stir a muscle. “Just go and gorge yourself on it before the sun is up.”

“Oh,” Junho nodded. “Right,” he left Yena’s laptop on the dining table because he sure couldn’t go and leave it at her room. One, she was very particular about not allowing the others into her sanctuary; and two, he was not too sure of what he might find in her room right now… shaking his head, Junho waved his hand at Wooyoung as a good-bye. “I’m off then, later.”

“Later,” Wooyoung waved his right hand, leaning against the counter. He turned back to his early breakfast only when he saw Junho put his leather jacket on and then heard the front door close softly.

Having put the straw into the glass, Wooyoung glided towards the sink putting the empty jar into it. He washed it pristine clean, and once he was at the counter again, he took the glass ready to savour the rest of the swine blood to the very last ounce of it, only to be interrupted by a rather annoying prickling at his skin through the fabric of his joggers. Looking down he saw Bruno digging his nails into his legs. He stared at the cat with a blank expression on his face.

“Do you have any idea how much I treasure these pants?” he asked.

“Meow?” Bruno answered, his lower grid fangs white and shiny as he opened his small muzzle. Wooyoung scoffed.

“Thought so.”

“Meow…”

“What?” Wooyoung frowned.

“Mrrrrow?” the cat rubbed into his legs and then trotted away towards the other end of the kitchen where his bowls stood. They were empty.

“Oh…” Wooyoung blinked. “Figures…”

He turned around opening the cupboard and took out one small glass. He immediately filled it up with water as he was standing right in front of the sink and then he kneeled down to a console next to the sink. Opening the door, he pulled out a bag of dry cat food. Tuna flavoured. Or whatever it was they put into cat food these days.

Gliding quickly towards Bruno’s bowls, Wooyoung filled one of it with water from the small glass, and then dropped a few dry food granules into the other bowl, making it only half-full. Bruno looked into the bowl and then up at Wooyoung. The cat was broadcasting the biggest waves of betrayal.

“Meow?” he said somewhat reproachfully.

“Don’t you ‘meow’ me,” Wooyoung pursed his lips walking away from the cat. He stored the glass and the cat food back into their respectable places. “You know you can’t have much, you’d get fat,” he took his blood glass and leaned against the counter again.

“Meow…” Bruno didn’t want to give up, but the Busan boy was relentless. He raised his glass towards Bruno like a toast, without any intention of adding more to the cat’s bowl.

“Cheers,” he said taking a sip through the straw.

 

 

He did wander away. For one, he trusted his vampire speed and knew he could return home very fast if anything. Second, he didn’t want to feed close to the Old Town, just in case it was easy to track him down afterwards. Also, the Old Town, being part of the UNESCO World heritage sites, was full of surveillance cameras and he just couldn’t go all out in there. He had this distinct feeling someone was watching him right from the moment he left Yena’s house and therefore (even though he believed it was just his overactive imagination spiked by his terrible hunger), he decided to be more careful lest he expose his coven.

Jumping from one roof to another in the early winter morning twilight, Junho eventually found himself outside of the city centre and close to the suburbs in the uptown. There were still quite a few old houses all around, as the neighbourhood was quiet and mostly full of dwelling-houses. The houses were set very close to each other like in a perfect Victorian postcard. Standing at the beginning of one long and seemingly empty residential street, Junho closed his eyes and took in a deep breath through his nose.

Most of the people in the street were still inside their houses, although many of them were already waking up and preparing for another day at work or school. He had to be quick before they began piling out of their dark-painted doors with white doorframes and passing through their black iron gates and fences that surrounded their neat suburban residences more like a snobbish decoration than a mean of defence.

Junho scoffed inwardly. These fences with lily-shaped rods at the top could keep away neither a thief nor a vampire. Had it been a Korean neighbourhood, Junho would’ve considered it a good example of kitsch; however, in this part of the world, he knew it was a piece of their heritage.

There was a distinct rasp of metal against metal coming from the far end of the street and Junho realized it was the sound of a garage gate being opened. Someone was moving out of the house.

Crouching slightly and feeling a distinct chill of the rising sun at the back of his neck, Junho moved stealthily to the right side of the street and ran quickly down the footpath towards the final house at the very end on the right. He knew he had to hurry if he wanted to be home on time. He must’ve spent too much time strolling around in the Old Town. He just never had an opportunity to enjoy it, as he had either been too grumpy or constantly under surveillance of the elders.

Therefore, as it was his first time on his own, and especially as Chansung had demonstrated his trust to such an extent as to let him feed alone, Junho had lost a track of time. Not to mention this odd feeling that something familiar was always on his heels. He had actually even thought there was a bugged vampire dog following him or something, reporting his moves.

Junho shook his head. He was beginning to sound like a delusional freak to himself. With the early morning sky dark velvety blue, he slid along the red-brick wall, stopping right before he emerged in front of the garage, to see a man in his early 40s putting his suitcase into his Mercedes, clearly ready to head out to work. Junho gulped, concentrating on the house. Judging from what he could hear and smell, it was empty. Not even a single pet. He looked around. Pets. Not a single dog barked while he was in the street. It was eerily quiet.

It made him think of the time he had been turned and how everything had gone eerily quiet back then, right before that crazy vampire appeared. He wondered if the animals could feel the predatory intent in him because Yena’s Bruno wasn’t really scared of any of them. But then again, pets were usually a lot like their masters, and Yena didn’t give a damn about their vampire nature.

Concentrating on the man again, Junho figured how he should do it. He sure didn’t want to do it the Khun-way and drain the person dry because, as much as he could swallow down his conscience, he couldn’t really cover up after himself as much as Khun could. He was far from being so influential. But then again, first and foremost, he was hungry and not up for the thrill of the hunt. Therefore, Junho figured he could use some of Khun’s tricks. Namely, knocking the victim out before the feed. Junho could easily do that. All he had to do was clamp the carotid artery and let the man pass out, and then take some blood, enough to satisfy his hunger, but not too much to kill him.

Grinning to himself, Junho was ready to move when he felt it again. It almost felt like Minjun-hyung. Or maybe Chansung. As if someone was watching him. He couldn’t put his finger on it. He had a hunch it was his young vampire age at fault.

He sometimes had a problem pushing the imprint senses to the back of his head. There was a constant coven presence in his mind: Minjun, Khun, Taec, and Chansung especially. He could feel them, their whereabouts, sometimes even their mood.

Chansung was especially easy to read, and sometimes Junho found it hard to concentrate on other things. He was told that eventually one learns to push it away and call out the imprint only if need be. Junho shook his head. His imprint was acting out at a very bad time.

Ignoring this weird tingling at the back of his nape, Junho moved forward, thinking he might need to drink from the man’s arm vein instead of the neck because that would save him the bloody mess. The man was about to get into his car, and Junho was less than five metres away from him when the throbbing became unbearable, and he knew it was no longer his imagination. It was no longer his imprint. It was his vampire self-defence that spiked up and rang the alarm in his head, and Junho forgot everything about feeding, turning around in a flash and ramming his shoulder into the being creeping up behind him.

Soaring over the black iron fence, he crashed with a petite person in his arms into the cleared street. It took him just a fraction of a second to realize the person was a vampire. Junho didn’t have enough time to take a closer look at his tracker because there was a painful jab in the middle of his abdomen, and he flew away from the person, jumping back on his feet as soon as he regained his balance. It all happened too fast.

He noticed the sky turning grey, then he heard the man start the car engine in the garage, and he cursed under his breath realizing his prey was getting away. Eventually, he focused on the person in front of him, just to see a petite Asian female vampire dressed in a dark robe, a heavy intricate retro make-up on her face, as if she had stepped right out of the 1960s.

Junho frowned. She was pretty and all, with a strange mix of dry body constitution and a delicate face, but her being an Asian vampire made him think it was no accident she had been following him. He suddenly felt furious. He was hungry, and now he had to deal with some interfering chick. Not to mention it was very much close to sunrise.

Junho heard the car roll out of the garage and into the driveway. He gritted his teeth and lunged at the woman before she could attack him, snatching her around her waist and dragging her away from the street. She struggled and soon freed herself from his grip, landing a high kick into his shoulder blade. Junho frowned, landing on a snowy lawn. He actually had a very strict policy of not hitting women, but he was beginning to suspect that things didn’t quite work like that in the vampire world.

She swung her fist at him, but Junho caught her by her wrist and landed a punch into her liver area, making her double over. Still holding her wrist tight, he jumped up as high as he could, pulling her after him, until they were on the roof of the house. He watched the man he had wanted to feed of drive away, with the two vampires out of his human sight, still holding the female tight in his grip. He had a feeling she was older than him but not by too much, because an old vampire wouldn’t even have to put up a fight against a youngling.

A cold shiver ran down his spine and he looked behind him to see the first rays of sun appear from behind the horizon. He could already feel the skin on his cheek itch and tingle furiously. He was too late.

“Shit,” cursing under his breath, he jumped off the roof pulling the female along. He ran around the house and eventually stood in front of the same garage again. Plunging his fingers underneath the door, Junho lifted it with no effort, thankful there was no burglar alarm, and he quickly ducked down hurrying into the garage, dragging the woman along with him, the door closing behind them.

There was a not a single window in the garage and it was pitch dark, but he could still discern the things quite well as his pupils dilated to the fullest. It was a tidy garage without any tools lying around, and with the sunny threat out of the window, he finally focused on the one, who messed up his hunt. Swinging her around and ramming her into the wall, Junho clutched at her shoulders, growling through his clenched teeth.

“Why were you following me?!” he roared in Korean without thinking. “The hell do you want?!”

“Fuck you!” she spat out in Korean as well, and there was a distinct ring to her voice with the same type of quality that, Junho remembered, his grandma used to speak in. He narrowed his eyes.

“Fuck me?” he fumed. “Well, fuck you, too!!” he rammed her harder into the wall, a tool box falling off the rack above their heads, screwdrivers, chisels, and hammers toppling right onto them.

They didn’t stir a muscle even though one of the chisels landed on her head, cracking the skin open. A narrow trickle of blood slithered down her forehead and temple. A screwdriver left a cut on his right cheek.

“Bloody new-born!!” she hissed trying to free herself from his grip.

Junho’s nostrils flared. Along with the air-conditioned garage smell, he drew in the scent of her blood. She felt dizzily delicious. There was a weird familiar element he couldn’t put his finger on.

“This bloody new-born was in the middle of hunting, you idiot,” he hissed. “And you know what happens when a new-born is very hungry?”

Her eyes widened a little as she looked up at him, emanating nothing but anger and ferocity.

“You wouldn’t dare!!” she struggled harder.

“Watch me,” he snarled and before he knew what he was doing, he ripped the robe away and sank his teeth into her pale silky neck.

She gasped out loud, her hands flexing and grabbing a hold of Junho’s shoulders. Underneath the robe she wore nothing but a short long-sleeved black dress, black sheer tights, and black flats. Junho knew it was a bad and unconventional idea to feed on the vampire, but she tasted so good and vaguely familiar he couldn’t stop.

He tried to convince himself the level of familiarity was there because she was Korean. Just like he heard Khun say once he could tell from Bobby’s blood, she was Thai. And with the level of freshness in her blood, Junho could tell she was still relatively young because he couldn’t detect a trace of venom, as with Chansung.

Swallowing a gulp and pulling back before his head got completely clouded with lust… Junho shook his head… hunger, before his head got completely clouded with satisfying his hunger; the youngling looked her in the eye again.

She was still furious with him, but there was something else now in her dark brown eyes, something he couldn’t quite recognize. He just felt his heart thump in his chest and blinked. That surely had been a while. He was so startled that his grip on her shoulders loosened momentarily, and his brain rang an alarm to it. His body tensed, preparing for the imminent attack, but instead of punching him and pushing him away, the female stared at Junho’s full lips smeared in her own blood.

She breathed out and Junho was even more perplexed to see vapour escape her mouth. He didn’t know vampires could accelerate their metabolism to the point the body would get this warm. His heart thumped again and she took his neck into her small hands, pulling him closer and assaulting his lips with her own, licking and sucking the blood away.

Instead of freezing over, Junho just gripped her tighter, his eyes closing, and his left hand slid down her waist, feeling the soft fabric of the dress. Then it followed down the curve of her backside and eventually, it hitched her right thigh over his hip. By the time her nimble fingers freed him of his leather jacket, she was already clinging to him her strong lean legs wrapped tight around his waist, her eye level way above his. She perched so high, she had to lean down and Junho had to raise his chin up when he kissed her.

He pulled back, finally realizing the state he was in, his vampire heart thumping in his chest again.

“I don’t…” he uttered hoarsely; his vocal cords coated with blood. “I don’t usually do this on the first meeting.”

She looked intensely at him, her thick eyelashes fluttering slightly as she eyed the vein in his neck with a mixture of hunger and admiration.

“Shut. Up,” she said pulling him back close to herself, silencing him with her lips on his.

 

 

***

 

 

The car zoomed up northwards at high speed along the A9 in spite of the fact that the asphalt was rather slippery. Naturally, vampire senses were enough to secure a safe journey, although Minjun still marvelled at Amber’s ability to steer the yellow sports car on a winding Highlands road that was more fit for a land rover than a small coupe. The engine hummed like a bee, yet it was quiet enough to be quite pleasant on the ears.

Minjun looked outside through the passenger window. All he could see was mountains. And mountains. And some more. Of the mountains. Standing on both sides of the road dressed in the white wintry coat, they sort of framed the way, confining it and making it wind along the mountain line. It felt a little bit suffocating, but Minjun didn’t mind it much because he could easily imagine he was home. The mountains here weren’t as rocky or lush, but the general atmosphere was somewhat similar.

It was way past midnight and with the lack of traffic on the road, Amber didn’t bother to switch on the headlights. With their pupils dilated to the fullest, they could see perfectly well in the darkness. On every sharp turn, the car would drift way too far towards the edge and then spring back to the main path, eventually drawing intricate bee-lines along the road. It seemed that Amber knew exactly what she was doing, pushing the car to its limits in such weather conditions, wringing out the optimal performance from a piece of machinery.

Minjun had been a little bit surprised when she called him, asking if he would want to go together with her to check up on some issue in the North. He believed that no matter how cosmopolitan or tolerant the locals were, they were still quite suspicious of the outsiders when it came to their own issues. After all, everyone wanted to take care of their house matters themselves, so Minjun had found Amber’s request rather odd. He thought their impending union was economical, not political. On the other hand, Minjun focused on the window trying to discern his own features on the glass, these days everything economical was also political.

“You seem to be spending a lot of time away from home lately,” Amber uttered making another sharp turn to the right. If Minjun had been human, he would’ve swayed back and forth.

“I’m not a stay-at-home type in general,” he answered peeling his gaze away from the window and turning to look at her.

She was wearing dark purple trousers, a black and white shirt with a random picture on it, and a black leather jacket. He knew those purple trainers with blue-green stripes though. The vampire smirked inwardly.

“Are your boys ok with your leaving them to fend for themselves like that?” the tone of her low voice rose a little bit at the question.

“I believe that freedom and independence is a structural part of vampire upbringing,” he said perhaps sounding a bit too official because Amber actually snorted. “I once left Chansung alone for decades when he was still very young because I had work to do. And besides, these days, the elder ones are responsible enough to take care of the younglings.”

“Even your venom-less one?” Amber shifted the gears. She had always preferred manual transmission to the automatic. Automatic transmission was for pussies. Minjun smiled to himself.

“Taec might still be in his vampire teens, but as long as he’s with them, I’m sure nothing wrong is going to happen. He’s the most responsible one,” the car passed a road sign indicating the distance to the nearest town. “Chansung has a tendency to plunge into escapism from time to time, and you wouldn’t want to trust him with a logical solution of a problem when he’s pissed. Khun is usually too logical because deep down, he’s too emotional… and he has this almost morbid attachment to Chansung, so if it doesn’t concern Chansung, Khun might overlook something. And Taec is really the only one, who always has a clear head on his shoulders. He might be a little bit eccentric, but he’s smart and down to earth.”

“And what about your younglings?” unintentionally, it turned into an interrogation session, but Amber was really curious to know more about the coven. She wondered if her impressions from the party matched Minjun’s opinion about the boys.

“I don’t know them that well yet,” Minjun shrugged his wide shoulders. “They seem to be nice kids, a little bit rebellious at some point, but what else would you expect,” he grinned. “Junho was a bit bratty in the beginning and hard to control, but that’s a given for a new-born. Khun had been even worse. Now personality-wise, Junho feels like an upgraded version of Chansung; he’s kind and understanding, yet very down to earth. Wooyoung, on the other hand, has always been calm and stayed out of trouble, but that worries me for some reason.”

“It’s always those silent ones, isn’t it,” Amber grinned casting him a glance.

“I suppose so,” he smiled. “He’s stubborn yet practical. Seems to be a good kid, but you never really know what’s on his mind. And he still doesn’t have an imprint. It’s a bit unsettling,” Minjun shook his head. Amber whistled.

“Still no imprint?” she clicked her tongue. “How long has it been?”

“Over six months now,” Minjun settled more comfortably in the passenger’s seat. “And I can’t really make him because I’m not from the direct line…”

“Well, that’s precious, a vampire without an imprint,” she mulled over the thought. “It’s like… these days it would be like… an unvaccinated baby,” she chuckled at her own ingenuity. “What about his maker then?”

“Gone,” Minjun’s expression stiffened and his charcoal eyes narrowed. “She broke our law by turning two people at the same time. She ran away before Wooyoung and Junho had even woken, and then Joon found her last September… you know Joon, right?” he turned to look at her sharply.

“Yes, I know him,” Amber nodded, keeping her eyes on the road.

“So, he found her, I came over, and as someone from the same imprint line, I took care of her. I had the right to.”

“The same imprint?” despite the fact there was a very cunning turn to the left ahead, Amber turned to look at him with a confused expression on her face.

“For all I know,” Minjun looked down at his black low-waist trousers. “My maker had only two offspring. I was the second one. The first one, my hyung, had left our lands shortly after my master’s death. The vampire, who broke the law by turning our two boys, was my hyung’s progeny.”

“Does your brother know?” Amber asked incredulously.

“I have no idea where he is,” Minjun shook his head. “Haven’t seen him for ages. Literally.”

“Ever tried looking for him?”

“With Chansung and Khun on my back?” Minjun laughed. “I’ve sort of got my hands full really. Plus, all the duties for Jihoon-hyung…” he sighed. “I just know he’s safe and sound somewhere, that’s enough for me.”

“So, you have vampire twins, a human scientist, a vampire nerd, a rich boy, and a Joseon noble in your coven, and two of your kids are naturals. Which also makes you kind of a great-uncle to your twins because their maker was your long-lost brother’s progeny, but you had to kill your niece because she broke your law… Whoa, family drama,” Amber angled her head to the left whistling. “So Korean…”

“You’ve watched too many dramas, I think,” Minjun laughed poking at her shoulder. Amber laughed too. To think, they shared something similar in their laughs. Both were explosive and loud.

“Even so,” she chuckled. “How about you then?” she asked.

“Me?” Minjun blinked surprised.

“Yes, what about you? How would you describe yourself?” she gave him a sideway glance. “Not the thoughtful father who’s earning for the family, right?” she smirked. Minjun giggled, his eyes shrinking into narrow crescents.

“I’m a _jan-meori_ ,” he said.

“ _Jan-meori_?” she rolled the unfamiliar word over her tongue frowning slightly. “What’s that?”

“It means I can talk my way out of complicated situations,” he smirked wiggling his eyebrows. Amber snorted.

“So, you’re the elusive guy, huh?” she grinned quickly slumping back into her seat and sharply turning the wheel to the right and to the left. “A nin-ja~” she hissed turning her voice into a mysterious whisper. The car lurched and jolted sharply to the left and to the right, almost catching a drift on a slushy snow that was abundant at the roadsides.

“Whoa,” Minjun fastened his seatbelt in a flash.

“Sorry,” she grinned apologetically, the car bypassing another road sign, which made Minjun think.

“Where are we going, anyways?” he frowned slightly. “Care to fill me in, before you leave me at the gallows or something?

“Dornoch,” Amber sighed, her thoughts clearly going back to the issue she had to deal with. “It’s a small town, we’re going to arrive in 20 minutes or so,” she switched on the headlights and slowed down a little bit, noticing a car approaching from the opposite direction. “I got a call from the steward of the Highlands, saying they had a problem and insisting on my coming over to check it out. Keeping in mind that the Highlands folk is very independent and they hardly ever call upon the regent… id est _me_ ,” she emphasized eyeing him sideways. “I’d say it’s something important.”

“And why am I going with you?” he figured she would tell him now because there was no going back at this point.

“Because he said “darn Korean commies” before the end of the conversation,” she supplied. Minjun blinked frowning.

“That… doesn’t make sense,” he mused. “For the vampire community, the division of Korea… it doesn’t exist, for us it’s one unified territory.”

“Well, the steward is quite young and _very_ prejudiced,” Amber rolled her eyes. “So, you better prepare yourself. Don’t be surprised if you hear some xenophobic shit from him… like “narrow-eyes” or something.”

“What? Narrow eyes?” Minjun blinked. “My eyes are big,” he stared at her opening his eyes as wide as he could, his black orbs showing fully for once. Amber cracked up.

“I can see that,” she giggled, trying hard to concentrate on driving. This millennium old Korean vampire could be cute and funny when he wanted.

“And all this talk about my coven,” Minjun loaded the serious mode once again. “It’s easy to collect data on us if anyone would commit to it properly, but I’d appreciate if it were just between us…”

“No prob,” Amber shrugged.

“And it’s just me talking,” he gave her an eye. “What about you?”

“We’re almost there,” she pointed out at a road sign that said Dornoch was 5 miles away.

“Amber,” there was a definite urge in his soft voice, without a hint of threat or malice, just like a patient parent would be urging his child to take the first steps. She sighed slowing the car down even more because they entered the town limits.

“There’s not much to tell,” she thought of the best way to put it. “You know about my origins already. I have never turned anyone… My master was captured by a human vampire hunter sect and exposed to the sun a few hundred years ago. Though he’d let me go centuries before that… My siblings… there probably are some, I can still feel the imprint sometimes, but I don’t know… my master was never a merry-happy-family type…” she seemed thoughtful.

“What else… I’ve always been helping one vampire or the other because I speak more languages than the locals… you know, my different background and all. I used to also call out one vampire or the other to duel… I’ve been helping out the current queen since forever, which is probably why now I’m the regent of Scotland… Honestly,” they reached the town and she was now navigating the streets, knowing exactly where she was going. “There’s really not much to tell… random battles… I don’t know, the main reason I am what I am right now is because I managed to survive and I was strewing bread crumbs as I went, so to speak.”

“What about Emma then?” Minjun asked curiously. He knew the two have known each other for a very long time, although he never really delved deeper into the topic.

“She’s the closest I’ve ever had to a family, I guess,” she smiled. “Nice girl. A little bit insecure, but…” Amber glanced at Minjun. “I drained her maker in a duel, and I took the final imprint the last minute when I realized Emma was still very young, like 50 or so. I couldn’t leave a teen vampire to fend for her own.”

Minjun suspiciously narrowed his eyes.

 “You drained her master?”

Amber grinned, showing off her pearly white fangs.

“I did. That bitch was abusive and fucking mental.”

 

 

The car stopped in front of an old cathedral. It was shot with artificial floodlight, emphasizing its stony exterior. For all Minjun knew, the cathedral was older than Chansung. Well, at least the site was, because he was pretty sure that the building had to suffer quite a few fires over the centuries and the half-assed 19th century “restorations,” which would usually translate into “let’s demolish the things we don’t like and build stuff anew.” However, despite the lack of the original details, the church looked beautiful enough. And if Minjun was not mistaken, some of the human celebrities had also been married in this cathedral over the years.

Amber cast him a fleeting glance and opened the door, getting out of the car. Minjun wrapped his long black scarf around his neck to the point where only his eyes were visible, clapped a black fedora hat on his head, and got out of the yellow sports car, hunching his shoulders and pretending it was very cold. He even considered faking his metabolism so that the vapour would escape his mouth, but too much would’ve been too much, and it would’ve only made his wool scarf damp.

Closing the door and locking the car with a single press of a button on the control panel, Amber glanced over the car roof at Minjun and she almost fell down laughing. Minjun thought her laugh was as sudden as a cannonball shot.

“What are you?!” she giggled pointing a finger at him and bracing herself over her stomach with the other arm. “A turtle?!”

“Quack?” he shrugged, obviously not discerning between a turtle and a duck. Amber doubled over laughing.

“Oh dear,” she wheezed. “Oh dear, I should stop. That would bring me to tears and it’s not pretty,” she laughed some more and then straightened herself up, closing her eyes and composing herself because, after all, they were there to deal with an important issue. “Alright,” she calmed down. “Alright,” the blonde opened her eyes motioning her head towards the main entrance to the church. “Let’s go.”

Amber’s hands in her jacket’s pockets and Minjun’s hands in this thick black sweater’s pockets, climbing up the stony steps to the ancient church, they looked more like a couple of misplaced tourists than two millennium year old vampires. The door opened without a single creak and they walked in.

They found themselves in a spacious dimly illuminated hall. The lamps inside the church were shut down, but there was enough light coming in through the stained-glass windows, especially as there were many floodlights pointed at the church from the outside, shading the interior with various colours.

They walked slowly down the main isle bypassing the pews, their muffled footsteps still resounding with a soft echo throughout the building. Minjun wondered if he was supposed to cross himself. Not that he was a religious or anything, simply out of genuine respect, but he noticed that Amber didn’t do so, so he opted out as well. However, he did pull his hands on out of his pockets. Stupid human traditions or not, he figured there were supposed to be certain limits that even vampires should comply with.

There were four vampires waiting for them at the very end of the isle, in front of the altar. Three males and one female. All dressed in casual clothes and of average height (respectively). Minjun could tell that the eldest vampire, that slim fair-haired person on the far right with a terminator jaw, was no more than 300 years old. That must’ve been the steward of the Highlands. The other three were even younger, the female obviously the youngest, still in her vampire teens. One of the two younger males looked extremely pale and Minjun guessed he hasn’t fed for a very long time.

“My lady,” the eldest vampire bowed to Amber as they finally approached the altar, consequently giving a very dubious look to Minjun, whose face was still hidden behind his scarf and fedora, only the tip of his nose visible.

“Duncan,” Amber nodded and glanced at her partner. “This is Kim Minjun. The steward of the greater Daegu Area in Korea,” she introduced. “My fiancée, I figured he should be here.”

The other three vampires bowed again while Duncan, the steward of Highlands, merely eyed him up and down. Minjun figured that the same title led the younger vampire to believe they had equal status. Slowly pushing his fedora up with his forefinger, Minjun gave him a closer look, his black charcoal eyes shining in twilight. It took him just one glance to figure out that this Scottish vampire was a serious business, but nothing to be afraid of. Minjun looked away, focusing at the pale face of a young, dark-haired vampire. The picture was rather unsettling. Minjun could almost smell the hunger in the air.

“What seems to be the problem?” Amber asked walking closer to the young pale vampire, clearly realizing that the issue was this boy.

“I’d say he's hungry,” Minjun said looking around. The architectural structure of the dome of the church was really interesting indeed. Duncan scoffed, but Amber simply ignored him, focusing on the young vampire.

“Are you really?” she asked. The dark-haired looked down.

“I can’t feed,” he said. Minjun ceased gawking around and focused on the boy. That was something he hasn’t heard before.

“How so?” Amber narrowed her eyes.

“Whenever he comes into contact with blood,” another young vampire with hazel-brown hair uttered, seeing as his comrade could barely stir a muscle. “He starts thrashing around and tries to get away from it as fast as possible. It’s like he’s scared of it.”

“Vampiric haemophobia?” Amber angled her head not quite believing her ears. “What the…”

“I want to feed, believe me,” the boy said sighing. “But I just can’t,” he looked up at Amber, his eyes glittering with something sad in the dim light.

“When did it start?” Amber asked again.

“He got into a fight with one Korean female a bit over a month ago,” Duncan supplied with a hint of disdain in his voice. “She scratched him hard with her claws and the wounds didn’t close for a long while. We believe there was something underneath her fingernails.”

“An infection?” Amber asked incredulously.

“More like a virus,” Minjun narrowed his eyes walking closer to the boy and trying to pull something out of his pants pocket. Everyone eyed him suspiciously when eventually he raised his hand, long slender fingers wrapped tight around a small syringe.

“A syringe?” Amber’s jaw dropped. “You carry a syringe in your pocket?”

Minjun recoiled back at her.

“You have no idea what kinds of things I began carrying in my pockets as we moved in with that girl,” he said and focused on Duncan this time, raising the syringe in his hand higher. “I need to take a sample of his blood to make sure,” Minjun explained.

“I suppose it is your responsibility,” Duncan drawled as Minjun took the young vampire by his hand, and stabbed the syringe into the pale flesh. The vampire didn’t even flinch, he was too emaciated.

“Whether it was done by a Korean vampire or not,” Minjun watched as dark blood filled the syringe tank slowly. “If it’s really a virus,” he looked up at Duncan. “It might be serious. A vampire afraid of blood is a bit out of the ordinary, don’t you agree?”

“I suppose…” Duncan folded his arms across his chest.

“Either way,” Amber eyed the kid up and down when Minjun put the full syringe back into his pocket. “Your boy looks like he’s going to flop any minute now. Have you even tried feeding him?”

“We told you he starts thrashing around like mad,” Duncan mumbled irritated.

“Did the thought to restrain him ever occur to you?” Amber raised her eyebrows. The four Highland vampires seemed to be lost for words.

“Anyone here with the same imprint as this lad?” Minjun asked. The girl raised her hand tentatively.

“Umm… I am his younger sibling… maker and imprint wi—”

She didn’t even have enough time to finish her sentence when, in a blink of an eye, the boy found himself in Minjun’s stony clutch. His left arm holding the young vampire tight around his chest, and his right hand pulling his head back to lean onto Minjun’s broad shoulder, the Korean vampire narrowed his eyes staring right at the girl, only half of his face visible behind the boy.

“Rip your forearm open and hold it above his mouth,” he pulled the boy’s head further, automatically making him open his mouth. The boy began twitching involuntarily when the girl approached him with her forearm all bloody, but Minjun held him tight, not letting him get away. Still slightly hesitant, the girl glanced at Amber.

“What are you looking at me for?” Amber rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest. “Just do it.”

And as a very young vampire, the girl knew better than to disregard two millennium old nocturnal creatures. So, she raised her forearm above the twitching and whining boy’s head and watched her blood drip right into his open mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friday was hectic, so the update is late _/\\_  
> This is already where I don't need to edit that much because the story seems to have finally acquired its own style and taste.  
> However, it still takes hours to go through these chapters, fixing minor aspects and some continuity flops.
> 
> I think I will be able to churn out one more update before Friday next week, and then I'll have to pause things until the end of July because I'm flying out of the country again next week, and then I have a summer party at work almost immediately after I'm back.  
> So yeah. Brain (& body) fried.
> 
> Thank you for your hits and kudos, and don't hesitate to visit me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Egle0702).
> 
> <3


	9. #9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🔷 Khun the nanny. Junho gets grounded.  
> 🔷 Emma plays a demon.  
> 🔷 Yena gets a new vampire blood riddle to solve, but Wooyoung sidetracks her.

_Edinburgh, present day_

 

He waited outside until she disappeared behind the front door and then waited some more to see the light flicker on in her window.

Bobby had wanted to go home immediately, but Khun made her stay at the hospital for one whole day, after having informed her parents about the “accident.” Bobby claimed she had slipped. And well, that was totally believable because there was not enough salt and sand, and shovels to take care of the pavements, and Bobby was prone to various clumsiness-induced accidents in general.

Her parents were really thankful to Khun though. Especially her mother, who was thrilled to meet such a well-off Thai in the United Kingdom. For them, Khun was nothing more but a good-looking their daughter’s employer. And Bobby hoped it was going to stay that way for good. Her parents were not keen on the supernatural stuff, and they would’ve sooner placed her under a therapy than believed her if she were to say she was working with vampires on a daily basis.

Khun insisted on taking her home himself. He had appeared in her room at the hospital right after sunset and taken her with him, in his black Mercedes. Now, standing in a street of a small residential block leaned onto his car door, Khun looked up at the second floor of a red-brick house to see Bobby pulling back her curtains and waving at him, obviously mouthing: “Go away, geez.”

Her eyes were wide open, and he could tell she was slightly worried, eager for him to get out of her neighbourhood as soon as possible. Well, that was understandable because Khun could also see her mother peeping at him through the corner of their living-room window on the first floor. She was probably already weaving plans to make her daughter marry this rather odd, but still outstanding Thai, who was standing with nothing but his exquisite dark suit on, in the middle of the chilly January night.

Smiling smugly to himself, Khun stood up straight, turned around, opened the car door, and got inside the dark leather interior. Buckling up the seatbelt, he started the car and, after having listened to the engine purr like a big tamed cat, he drove away, not missing the moment when Bobby drew her curtains back to their place.

His phone rang right when he was about to turn left into the main street of the neighbourhood. Fishing a Bluetooth earphone out of his pocket and attaching it to his ear, Khun pressed the answer button. Not that he was too keen on following the human rules, but if there was a type of technology that allowed him to go handsfree, why wouldn’t he use that?

“Hello?” he uttered entering the main street and thinking whether he should go to his office or just drive around for the night. With Bobby safe and sound back at her home, he felt strangely relieved. He didn’t bother to delve deep into himself and analyse why it was so.

“Did you happen to feel anything out of the ordinary today, by any chance?” Chansung spluttered into his ear without even bothering to spare some words for greeting. Khun frowned. Chansung was slurring. That always happened when he was in a hurry to convey something, and he didn’t have enough time to think it over and convert his thoughts into decent sentences inside his head.

“No?” Khun manoeuvred the car along busy streets, driving towards downtown. The city was soon to drown in the chaos of the rush hour, and he wanted to avoid that. “You know I don’t keep my imprint antenna up all the time, why?”

Khun was really good at shutting out the imprint senses so they wouldn’t bother him. He could always feel the members of the coven at the back of his head, but he seldom pulled those senses up front because he thought he might become paranoid, especially as his ability to feel Chansung was so sharp. Khun could always tell whether Chansung was happy, sad, frustrated, or simply dazed.

“Junho left to feed in the morning before sunrise, and he’s still not back,” Chansung explained. Khun blinked slowly.

“So? You think he’s not able to find a shelter for a day?”

“But he’s still so young…” Chansung sounded worried.

Khun exhaled through his nose slowly. Not that he needed to breathe to stay alive, but whether they liked it or not, vampires had to breathe when they wanted to talk, because talking required the use of vocal folds, and the voice came out only when vocal folds vibrated with the flow of air coming from the lungs.

“Well, have you tried calling him?” if vampire senses didn’t work, Khun was always keen on using human technologies.

“…”

“Chansung?”

“…”

Khun stopped in front of a red traffic light and as there still was no reply, he sighed, finally realizing what the deal was.

“Do you have anyone else’s number besides mine?” he asked in an extensively calm and gentle manner.

“I have Emma’s?” Chansung offered confidently. Khun wanted to slap his palm right across his face, but the green light switched on and he had to drive further.

“That’s because she entered and stored the number herself,” Khun pointed out. “Seriously, you should start saving numbers on your phone. It’s not that hard, when people call you, just press the options button and there should be a tab on the menu…”

“But that would…” Chansung sounded reluctant. “I would need to change my phone when I’m in Korea, because…”

“We change our phones annually anyways,” Khun pointed out driving towards New Town. “Just store the numbers in your SIM card, or even better, ask Junho to do that for you, kids are real savvy with technology these days…”

“Junho’s not home, that’s why I’m calling…”

“Then ask that other boy,” Khun grumbled slightly irritated. “He’s always home. And I’ll call Junho, deal?”

“Deal, thank you,” Chansung sounded relieved. “Later,” and he hung up.

Khun stared blankly at the front window, his body driving the car automatically. Sometimes he really wondered how Chansung managed to survive this long; he was such a scatter-brain, if that was even the right term for his condition. Although Khun knew the answer right away: when it came to focusing on one exact purpose, one moment, one emotion – Chansung was the best at what he did.

Before resorting to human technologies, Khun decided to see if Junho was alright by using the old ways. He had to check his teeth. That’s what he called it.

It hadn’t taken him long enough to realize that every vampire felt their imprint in a different way. Sure, the senses were all inside their heads, but that brought different associations to every single creature. As far as Khun was concerned, he always thought of his imprints as a second set of teeth. He had no idea what prompted him to come up with such comparison, but to him it felt logical.

The reason was that when one had all their teeth healthy, one could barely feel it. They knew the teeth were there, but if no other senses were to be triggered, it was hard to tell every single tooth apart. But if one had a toothache… The pain was acute and it was extremely easy to tell which tooth ached and why. Too put it simply, if the entire coven was in trouble, Khun had a head full of aching and throbbing teeth.

Right now, however, the Junho-tooth was obviously hibernating. Khun even had a bit of a problem in tuning in and finding him inside his head. But there he was. Safe and sound. And as he made sure the youngling was nowhere near real danger, Khun frowned, pressing a button on his earphone.

“Junho,” he said out loud and the voice speed-dial worked immediately.

The calling tone beeped in his ear, and Khun thought of what he should say and how he should reprimand the boy for being so absent-minded as to make Chansung worry. Not that the elders were their parents, and it was not like the younglings couldn’t fend for themselves, but everything had its limits, and it was simply a question of basic manners.

He picked up after the fourth ring.

“Hello?” his voice sounded lower over the phone.

“Where the hell are you?” Khun wasn’t going to bother with formalities.

“In a garage?” came a slightly doubtful reply.

“A what?” Khun blinked confused.

“A garage. It was sunny today. I hid in a garage,” Junho explained.

“Didn’t it occur to you that people might be worried about you?” Khun began fuming unawares.

“Sorry, I…” Junho sounded like he’s just fallen off the Moon. “I guess you could say I’ve lost my mind for a while here…”

“Lost…” Khun stopped in front of another traffic light, his brain working feverishly fast. “Don’t tell me you’re still hungry. Did your prey get away or something?”

“Yyyeees, but… I’m really not that hungry, hyung…” one could think Junho was finding it hard to utter the right words, and this kid always had something to say, in a rather complicated vocabulary to boot. Khun suspiciously narrowed his eyes. Something was not right.

“Where are you?” he asked. “I’ll come and get you right away,” the traffic light turned green and he pushed the car forwards, looking for the best route out of the street because he was pretty sure Junho wasn’t anywhere near downtown.

“Umm… I’m not too sure, I think somewhere around Liberton…” Junho really sounded like he had no idea.

“Libe…” Khun blinked and glanced right at the opposite side of the street where throngs of cars were slowly moving uptown during the rush hour. There was no way he could avoid it now. Grumbling, he sped up to the next intersection and made a sharp U turn to the right, earning a few frustrated honks, but still managing to perform everything within the boundaries of the traffic rules. “Stay right where you are,” he said trying to make it quick through the rush hour traffic and changing lanes whenever he could. “I’ll track you down by your imprint. Then I’ll take you to feed and bring you home because you’re grounded for a month.”

“What?!” Junho clearly wasn’t expecting that. “What for?! What am I supposed to do at the house for a month?! I’m not Wooyoung…”

“Not my problem,” Khun sounded distant and cold. “Help Yena with her experiments or something. Should’ve thought about it before you decided to spend a day out without a single warning or a message as to where you were… Chansung’s worried sick about you,” there was a distinct note of reproach in his voice.

“Oh, just get married already…”

“…” Khun blinked and then narrowed his eyes. Usually, if his prey was to see that look they would know it was the end. “One more word and you’ll be grounded for half a year,” he declared and pressed the button on his earphone ending the conversation, locking his jaw so hard his cheekbones almost popped out of his skin.

 

Junho pulled the phone away to look at the display in disbelief as the silent garage filled with a very annoying beeping after his hyung had ended the conversation so abruptly. The youngling couldn’t believe he got cut off like that. Scoffing, he put the phone away into his jeans back pocket and turned around to see her already completely dressed.

“Trouble?” she asked putting on her robe and tying the laces around her neck. Junho eyed her up and down, wondering how weird vampire vision worked in darkness. He knew it was dark, there was not a single source of light, but he could still see everything clearly. It wasn’t a type of black and white vision. It was something else. Almost as if it was more like feeling the image rather than seeing it. And he had to admit he liked what his senses drew in his head.

“I guess you could say I have over-protective parents,” he gave her a half-smile walking closer. “Apparently,” he reached out for the hood and pulled it gently over her head. “I’m grounded for a month.”

“Oh, that’s unfortunate,” her dark shiny eyes looked right at him, and there was a strange mix of power and fragility in her overall constitution that Junho found so intriguing. “I wanted to see you again… But then,” she angled her head to the right. “If you’re so young, what does that make me… what do they call it these days… pedo nuna?”

“Neither am I so young, nor are you so old,” Junho smiled. He didn’t know if it was her blood in his system or his newly-found sensuality, but he felt almost as if he were on drugs. She smirked and reached out, locking his face in between her small hands and pulling him closer to give him a kiss.

“I will find you,” she said after she pulled back.

Letting him go and giving him one last fleeting glance, she walked away towards the garage door. Junho watched her go, his head completely empty, not one single decent thought he could utter. However, right when she was about to push the gate open, he finally realized there was something he could ask.

“Wait,” he called out, and her hand froze on the cold surface of the gate. “What’s your name?” he asked.

“Sunny,” she answered without looking back. Junho blinked and chuckled.

“And your real name?” he pointed out smiling. She turned to look back over her shoulder, giving him a small smirk of approval.

“Sunye,” she said and pushed the garage gate open, walking out into the night.

 

 

_Joseon, 1450s_

 

It was a wild boar. Not your optimal choice for dinner, but desperate times called for desperate measures. It was very close to dawn and humans seldom wandered into these parts of the forest so there was no other choice. Emma gulped frowning because her throat was so dry it felt like she was back at the Gobi Desert again. It’s been more than twenty years since her half-assed odyssey, but she still shivered at the memory of this particular part of her journey. She had promised herself to take a different route home because there was something that bothered her more than constant hunger: that was the daily routine of burying yourself into the scorching sands in order to stay out of the sun. Sand would get into places she thought didn’t even exist before.

In the early summer morning twilight, she flattened herself to a thick branch and lurked up in a tree, waiting for the boar she had smelled earlier to appear searching for food. It was hard to see anything even for a vampire through the thickset of tree leaves and bushes down below, but her ears were enough to distinguish the rustling of twigs underneath boar’s hooves among the different kinds of sounds reaching her from every single direction.

The forest was fully awake already, with birds chirping and insects screeching. Even hanging up above the ground, Emma could tell there were other bigger animals prowling around, but she didn’t pay much attention to that because all she wanted now was that big fat male wild boar, emerging from the thickset and heading right towards her tree to nuzzle at its roots.

She rarely depended on animal blood so she decided that she was terribly hungry because even at the sight of the boar her mouth began watering at incredible pace. Crouching into an offensive position and hitching her trousers way above her knees to move as easier as possible, Emma was ready to swoop down when the boar looked up from the ground and took in a few suspicious sniffs.

Emma flattened herself to the branch again, noticing that it had become eerily quiet. She could no longer hear the birds. Frowning slightly and still keeping the boar in her field of vision, she tuned into her hearing completely. Even though the vampire sight and the sense of smell were unrivalled in the natural world, she would always trust her ears more. It came from her human days, when her sight was slightly impaired. Despite the fact that becoming a vampire had given her the best eye-sight she could ever bargain for, old habits died very hard.

There was someone else in the forest. Emma was pretty sure that the birds didn’t hush because of her. Even as a vampire, she was pretty good at adjusting to the natural environment and wild animals were hardly ever scared of her, unless of course, her predatory intentions were at the highest. Like now. But even so, she was quite convinced her disguise was good enough to delude the creatures around her. A faint sound of a breaking twig reached her ears from afar, and Emma narrowed her eyes. It must’ve been humans.

How odd. They seldom appeared in these forests for the deeply rooted belief that the mountain and the forests were the home of the demon. Emma smirked to herself; different looks sometimes were rather advantageous. Rather than taking her for what she was, the villagers who lived around the mountain, thought her to be a demon spirit not to be meddled with. Well, what one could do: Blue eyes and brown hair led to an automatic association with demons for these people.

Another twig cracked, this time closer, and the boar heard it as well. It oinked slightly disturbed, obviously considering getting out of this place, but Emma had a different idea.

“Oh no, you don’t,” she mumbled under her breath when the boar turned around and, before it even managed to take a step away from the tree, Emma swooped down from the branches, catching and locking the huge boar in between her arms, breaking its neck successfully before it could even as much as grunt.

Looking closely around and pricking up her ears to the fullest, Emma could tell now that there was not one person coming her way, but three or four at the least. It was too risky to feed at this very spot so close to dawn, so she just dragged the boar into the bushes, deciding to pick it up later when she would go to her cave up in the mountain.

That settled, she huffed a stray strand off her eyes and rolled up the sleeves of her light brown shirt, so that they wouldn’t get caught by small branches. She did the same with her pants, rolling them up almost to the middle of her thighs, and then listened to the noise again. She had to check it out. Humans in this part of the forest were a very unusual thing indeed.

Soaring back into the tree, Emma closed her eyes and gave it a listen. The strangers were coming from the base of the mountain, slowly going up. They weren’t going directly towards her, so she came to a conclusion that they were not looking for her.

They were slowing down actually, as if not quite sure where they should stop. That felt a bit weird. Their moving pattern reminded a group of people out to collect mushrooms in the forest, but humans would never come to pick mushrooms on this side of the mountain so early in the season.

Opening her eyes, Emma stood up on the thickest branch in the tree she could find and jumped, soaring effortlessly through the air and landing onto another tree. She figured she should make a detour instead of going straight towards the source of the noise. By making a detour, she would be able to approach those people from behind and take a closer look at them. Casting the last glance at the East where the sky was slowly turning from dark blue to faintly yellow, Emma made a quick calculation that she still had enough time to check on the intruders and then come back safely to her hideout, not forgetting to snatch the boar on her way back of course.

Floating from a tree top to a tree top and almost making no sound whatsoever, she soon found herself on a thick branch of an old tree, standing right above a narrow road that looked more like a patch going right through the forest. Squatting on the branch and lowering her head like a cat in the middle of an ambush, she scanned the surroundings dilating her pupils as much as possible.

She could see them, dressed in dark green robes, hiding quite successfully along the thick bushes and obviously masking their scent with something that smelled like dog urine. Emma scrunched her nose furrowing her eyebrows. That didn’t feel right, what normal human would go around walking in clothes, drenched in dog pee?

Fully flattening herself to the branch, she counted six of them, they were right in front of her in the bushes, on the other side of the path. She took a deeper sniff of the air.

Aside from the dog urine, she could also smell anxiety, sweat, and fear. Narrowing down her hearing scope, the female vampire concentrated on the fast-beating human hearts. Their heart rates were galloping at full speed.

“But what if the demon shows up?” one of them then whispered to his comrade.

“Shut up and stay put,” he received a curt answer.

Emma smirked. So, they were afraid of her and their objective wasn’t the demon hunt. However, they weren’t here to catch some boars or deer either. It felt… Emma scanned the path and the way the men were stationed at a particular distance one from another. It felt almost like a trap. And it was so close to dawn…

Slightly widening her eyes, suspicion rising, she focused on one of the men, eyeing him from head to toes. He laid low, well hidden by thick bushes and dark leaves. He wore a hood; she saw him clench a thick stick in hands. A thick wooden stick with a very sharp end. Grabbing a firm hold of the branch Emma narrowed her eyes, forcing her brain to zoom in on the image of the man’s hands. He had white bracelets, knuckledusters, and thimbles on his fingers. Silver. She fought hard to swallow down a growl.

Whether it was England or Joseon, they appeared in many different shapes and hordes, but Emma sure knew a vampire hunter when she saw one. Or a few. They weren’t that many, and they usually appeared as deranged sects, but the problem was that they did poise danger to the nocturnal community.

It was hard to catch a vampire or to inflict some damage on them. The vampire had to be either extremely careless or highly unfortunate to be caught, but once caught, it was basically a definite end because vampire hunters, no matter where and when, were ruthless.

She thought feverishly what she was supposed to do. As Emma resided in a foreign land, her usual politics was to stay out of the local vampire business. It was the safest and the easiest approach, despite the fact that the few vampires she had met over the years were very interested in her, mostly because of her different appearance. But, on the other hand, there was this basic rule that in the face a threat of the vampire hunters, the nocturnal community was supposed to stay united.

Emma wavered. She didn’t even know why or who the hunters were trying to catch when suddenly a sharp masculine scent reached her nostrils and she almost fell off the tree.

Grabbing a firm hold of the branch, she looked right to see someone coming in at an amazingly fast vampire speed, half-running half-soaring through the path. She held her breath as the scene unfolded in front of her almost in a slow motion.

She watched it with her eyes wide open. It was a tall man dressed in black robes, going through the forest in a hurry. He clearly disregarded his surroundings as if he was sure nothing would be of a threat to him. She almost wanted to slap him when one of the men in the ambush pulled at the rope buried in the path and the vampire tripped over it, hissing. Right afterwards, a net with threads of silver weaved into it fell on him.

Surprisingly, the man didn’t fall down immediately. He faced two of his attackers looking absolutely furious. With just one swing of his arm, he pushed one man away from him, but the other jabbed his wooden stick into the vampire's arm. He growled in pain, punching the man and sending him flying back into the bushes, right when the other two appeared from behind and plunged their silver staves into the vampire’s calves. He roared.

Emma looked away. He was as good as gone. Serves him right really, for being so careless.

He was still resisting, but it all resembled a struggle of a wounded tiger against a bunch of well-equipped hunters. She was considering leaving, when her sensitive ears caught a whisper. One of the men was whispering to his comrades that they would get paid really well for this job, and that it was strange the “nocturnals didn’t want to deal with him personally.”

Emma looked back sharply, narrowing her eyes and evaluating the situation at hand. More than vampire hunters, she hated the puny cowards who would pay the hunters to get rid of a rival instead of engaging in a fair duel. Politics or not, she couldn’t leave it like that.

Not even trying to remain silent, she broke a twig closest to her reach and flung it at the man, who had been stabbing the vampire’s legs with his staff. The twig went straight through his neck, and the man fell down on the ground, twitching and coughing blood.

His comrades stopped dead in their tracks, loosening their hold of the vampire and letting him slip onto the earthy path. He was already drenched in blood.

“What was that?” one man asked, his dark eyes darting back and forth the thicket, obviously scared and anxious. He found the forest more dangerous than the creature lying at his feet.

“Where are you?!” another man shrieked, pointing his bloody staff at the direction the twig had come from. “Show yourself!!”

“Hyung, don’t,” the third whined. “What if it’s the demon?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, demons don’t exi—” the man with the bloody staff cut off in the middle of his sentence when another twig pierced right through his neck, and he fell dead onto the ground with a loud thud. The remaining four huddled together, pointing their staves at the thickset, not knowing where to set their eyes, fear taking over them, making any traces of logical reasoning leave their minds.

The moment they began shaking with dread, a pale creature dressed in short pants (very short, they covered just part of the thighs) and a short-sleeved shirt descended slowly from a tree a few paces away from them. The long light brown hair moved with the lightest gust of the wind as the creature gracefully floated to the ground.

The men stared in astonishment when the creature’s bare feet touched the ground and it took a step towards them, scanning them intently with its steely blue eyes. The distinct colour visible even in the early morning twilight.

“Out of my forest,” it ordered in their language walking towards them.

“D-d-d-d-demon!!” they screamed with their heads off, their eyes so wide the whites of their eyeballs were visible. Throwing their sticks away, they ran off as fast as they could, leaving the vampire they had caught still lying on the ground, forgetting to take the corpses of their comrades with them.

“Tsk, these people,” Emma rolled her eyes and walked to the vampire still covered in the silver net. They had even managed to chain him with silver around his wrists and ankles. They now burned his skin, although he could no longer feel it because he was unconscious.

Ripping the lower part of her shirt off, Emma rolled the fabric around her palms and knelt down, carefully taking the chains off the vampire’s wrists and ankles. She had to hold her breath because the scent of this man’s blood was very strong. For some reason, it clouded her brain too much, stopping from thinking properly.

Pulling the net away from him, she rolled him onto his back checking for any serious wounds. The stabs on his arms were closing already, but the gashes on his calves were still bleeding so, without any second thoughts, Emma spat on her fingers and rubbed them together. Her saliva spread evenly on her skin, and then she knelt down to stroke the wounds carefully, coating it with her saliva, helping it heal faster.

That done, she stood up heaving a sigh of relief and finally taking a closer look at the vampire in front of her. She blinked. A shiver ran down her spine. Partly because the sun was rising already and she had to hurry up and get out of this place. Partly because there was something about this man.

He was tall. Not your average Joseon tall. Emma was pretty sure he would be tall anywhere. Tall and well-built, with long arms and legs, and bronze skin stretching over well-defined muscles that peeked through the shreds of his ripped clothes.

She blinked. He had relatively big ears. Emma had no idea why she thought of that all of a sudden. He must’ve been turned when he was around twenty-five or twenty-six, but it was also hard to tell because Emma sometimes thought the Joseon people aged differently.

Her eyes scanned his face. He had black, shoulder-length hair and sharp eyes. There were prominent cheekbones and chin, and a nose that looked like it had been broken once and then healed, probably in his human days. And there were full and dark lips with a curve that look like a bow.

A shiver ran down her spine again, indicating that she should either scram and or burn in the rising morning sun. Without further ado, she knelt down loading the tall unconscious vampire on her back and jumped up into the tree again, disappearing with her unexpected burden into the thickset.

 

 

_Edinburgh, present day_

 

There were no blinds or curtains on the ground floor windows when she walked down the stairs. The rooms were full of daylight, but there were no sunrays because it was obviously cloudy. Well, that was nothing new in this part of the world.

The clock on the wall in the living-room ticked quietly as she cast a glance at it and heaved a sigh of relief. It was only 11 am, which meant she hadn’t slept for too long. Taec wasn’t there when she woke up, and Yena decided he had gone to black out for the day. Well, good riddance, she had no need for a nagging nanny 24/7. Walking slowly through the living-room towards the kitchen, she met Bruno coming over to rub around her legs.

“Meow?” he said.

“Well, good morning to you, too,” Yena considered bending over to stroke the cat, but he ran away to play upstairs after giving her right calf another rub. “Ungrateful,” she mumbled watching the cat mince up the stairs.

Sighing and trimming her dark blue sweater, she headed towards the kitchen, but she halted again after taking just two more steps. Something was cooking. She could smell it. And she definitely heard the bubbling of boiling water and a light shuffle of feet against the floor. But it wasn’t Taec, she would’ve known it. Besides, the smell coming from the kitchen was not… something that Taec would make. It was ridiculous how she could tell if it was Taec cooking or someone else. To think of it, she was the only human in the house, so it was either her or Taec cooking anyway. She would’ve never allowed Bobby to work in her kitchen.

And now, there was definitely someone else. Yena sniffed a little bit more. The smell wasn’t bad, just unfamiliar. Or perhaps it wasn’t bad yet, because whoever decided to cook out there had just started.

Yena pursed her lips and took in a deep breath. She had to find out who it was and get him out of her kitchen ASAP, not to mention that she still wanted to continue working on that strange Wooyoung’s blood reaction to quicksilver.

Pushing her glasses up her nose, she took a few decisive steps towards the kitchen. The closer she got, the more puzzled she became. Her senses focused not on the sound of boiling water, but the footsteps shuffling around the spacious kitchen. The person was walking in a neat rhythmic pattern, as if he was listening to the music. She was planning on storming into the kitchen and then kicking the intruder out without any warning, but just when she reached the kitchen doorstep, she paused in the middle of her stride. Yena stopped and stared.

There was a steamy pot of boiling water on the stove, because someone had obviously forgotten to cover it with the lid. The counter was set with cutting plates, knifes, and various products: She could see chicken, frozen vegetables, onions, mushrooms, cups, and small plates. She smelled garlic. Her rice cooker was also set up, and there was an A4 size piece of paper stuck to the cupboard above the counter with a small magnet. The sheet was a little bit crumpled, but it obviously had descriptions and guidelines as to what it was supposed to be done with the food products. Someone was reviewing the list on the paper and once he was done, he checked the time on his mp3 player, then and kept on swaying around to the rhythm of the song coming from his white headphones.

Yena blinked, snatching a hold of the doorframe. The music was so loud she could hear it quite well. It was some kind of a catchy American R&B song with a distinctive rhythm, and he was easily moving to it. Easy and so fluid that Yena thought she should check her eyesight. It was hard to believe it was Wooyoung.

Black socks, black joggers with thin white lines on both sides, and a white hoodie with dark purple stars scattered all over; he danced to the song totally oblivious to that fact there was food waiting for him to be dealt with. His legs were all over the place. Whenever he would make a pace, the trousers would hug tight around his thighs, emphasizing the muscle lines. His arms were all over the place, sometimes moving along with the body, but most of the time, performing completely on their own. His hair followed after him almost in slow motion whenever he made a turn.

He turned around and made his body ripple like a wave from top to bottom, that was soon followed by an artistic shuffle of the feet. He moved across the kitchen and eventually tumbled over across the table, his long legs flashing above his head. Yena hiccoughed.

Usually, she wouldn’t have allowed such antics in the kitchen, but vampire senses were obviously doing this kid good because he was soaring and dancing across the room, causing no damage to the interior. Yena opened her mouth slightly, watching him go.

She wondered how come she hasn’t noticed that before. Dealing with him as her test subject almost every day, somehow, she had overlooked the fact that this boy was actually charming. Not in the Prince Charming way, but he had the kind of masculine charm that tended to unfold the longer you watched him.

At first glance, he looked very average, but then at some point, it felt like someone would pry your eyes open and you would suddenly realize he was stunning. Handsome. Of average height, but with relatively long arms and legs. Yena eyed him up and down. Given the fact she was tall, Wooyoung was no more than an inch taller than her, but his frame, constitution, and proportions…

What a waste… she found herself thinking suddenly. What a waste that this specimen of perfect Korean genes was turned into a vampire and could no longer pass over his DNA. Anyone could make use of these proportions. And those legs…

Yena shook her head looking up. She narrowed her eyes. Even his hands looked handsome with those distinctive thumb joints. She looked higher at the white headphones. She wanted to scream all of a sudden: She remembered that even his ears were pretty. Perfect.

Her eyes roamed across the body of the dancing boy, looking for any kind of defect because this was getting dangerous. Aha, her brain celebrated. His chin. He didn’t have much of a chin. Oh, who cares, the other part of her brain retorted.

She shook her head, eventually deciding to just enter the kitchen. He was getting too carried away to check upon whatever he was cooking… why was he cooking in the first place anyways?

“What are you doing?” she asked finally letting go of the doorframe and entering the kitchen. She knew he would hear her despite the music blaring in his headphones. And he did.

Wooyoung stopped in the middle of a complicated dance step and turned around to face her, pulling down his headphones, leaving them dangling on his neck. Seeing Yena standing right next to him, the young vampire gave her a bright smile, trimming and pulling down his star-studded white hoodie. She liked stars. Dammit.

“Good morning!” he beamed. He actually looked really handsome when he smiled. She wondered why she hasn’t noticed that before, too. Dammit times two. “You’re up?”

“Umm morning, yes, well obviously,” she looked left at the counter. “What’s all this?”

“Oh,” Wooyoung bit on his lip, pulling his mp3 player out from his pocket, pausing the music, and checking the time again. “Taecyeon had to go out with some errand for Minjun and he left me this,” he walked closer to the counter, looking up at the cupboard for the long list plastered to it. “I told him I suck at cooking, but he insisted…” he glanced at her still wearing that frank unguarded smile; he obviously found it funny.

“Don’t tell me,” Yena’s eyes widened as she looked over the ingredients. It looked like the soup she loved to make the most. “This is for me?”

“I swear I’ll try not to ruin it,” he raised his hand pledging himself to cooking, his shoulders quivering slightly with a light chuckle. He was in a good mood. Even his Adam’s apple was bobbing up and down. Yena looked away, focusing on the portable refrigerator set on the dining table. Taec was obviously overdoing it. Making the kid cook for her and all.

 “Don’t you have English School on Tuesdays?” Yena asked, walking towards the table to check on the refrigerator. The coven would give her their blood samples if not daily, at least weekly to continue her research on vampires and what their blood was capable of.

“Nuna,” Wooyoung’s voice suddenly got lower as he watched her sit down in front of the table and reach out for the refrigerator. “It’s Wednesday.”

Yena caught a hold of the table, because she almost fell down. She stared at Wooyoung.

“Come again?” she breathed.

“You slept for more than 24 hours,” he said shrugging. For a second, there was nothing but vacuum in Yena’s head. She couldn’t really understand how it was possible. Not to mention she was feeling great. It was totally out of the ordinary. She growled.

“Taec that bastard, what did he do,” she pulled the small cold box to herself, determined to remain unfazed by the fact she had overslept an entire day.

“Nothing, I think,” the rice cooker pinged indicating the rice was done, and Wooyoung opened the lid.

“I never sleep that long, that bastard must’ve given me something,” Yena hissed, although she had to admit she hadn’t noticed or felt anything out of the ordinary when she woke up. She opened the refrigerator and steam shot out of it as cold air clashed with the warm kitchen ambience.

“You did look tired the other day,” Wooyoung said scooping the rice out.

Yena grumbled under her breath ignoring him on purpose and pulling the blood samples out. There were seven vials in the glassware holder, and Yena’s eyebrows tied into a frown. Alright, she could tell the vial with Wooyoung’s blood right away. She’s been dealing with the coven blood for so long she could actually tell their fluids apart just by casting one glance at them.

It was quite unusual that Chansung and Minjun provided a vial each as well, because the former was rather forgetful as far as the tests were concerned, and the latter was just too busy. Taking the vials out, she then eyed the remaining four. Alright, so those were Khun’s and Taec’s, and Junho’s… Yena frowned taking a vial out and scanning it front of the daylight. She was either hallucinating or going crazy.

“Hey,” she called out to Wooyoung, who turned around to look at her with a chicken leg in his hand. Yena raised the vial higher. “This is Junho’s, right?”

“Mhm,” Wooyoung nodded, his hair flowing back and forth and his shiny eyes wide open, as he glanced over at the vial in her hand and the dark green lid. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” Yena pulled the container closer to her eyes. “It looks… different.”

“You can tell just by looking at it?” Wooyoung raised his eyebrows although they were hidden behind his black bangs.

“Ah, I must be going nuts,” Yena shook her head as Wooyoung threw the chicken leg into the boiling water. “Where is he anyways?” she asked. “I mean, Junho,” if she were about to start the full-fledged research on the coven blood, she could really make use of that kid. He was bright and quick-witted.

“Heh heh,” Wooyoung grinned mischievously. “He’s asleep.”

“What’s so funny?” Yena narrowed her eyes suspiciously. She was just as fast as Junho in getting the hang of the situation. Perhaps even faster.

“Oh, he’s grounded,” he shrugged. “For a month.”

“Junho?” Yena gaped. “For what?” Wooyoung shrugged once more, stirring the boiling pot.

“Khun says it’s because he stayed out on a sunny day, but Junho says it’s cos he’s said something he shouldn’t have,” the boy was clearly enjoying this.

“Rule No. 1 in this coven,” Yena heaved a tired sigh. “Don’t piss Khun off. He’s kinda bitchy when he’s irked,” she looked up at the youngling.

“Yeah, yeah,” Wooyoung waved turning his back at her and taking a knife because he had to cut the onions.

He was suddenly glad he didn’t have to breathe to stay alive because onions would always make him cry. And he would hate it to cry blood as a vampire. He sometimes wondered why vampires still had decent saliva, but their tear-ducts failed to produce tears and they would cry blood. That sucked. He suddenly thought whether vampires had normal nasal phlegm or did they snivel in blood, too. He’d never tried really.

“And what’s this?” Yena took the final vial with a bright yellow lid on it. The blood in it looked unfamiliar. Alright, she had to admit it. She was really about to go insane.

“Oh,” Wooyoung turned around holding half of a white onion in hand, it wasn’t cut very nicely though. “Minjun-hyung left that,” he pointed at the vial with the knife in his other hand. “He said to call him as soon as you wake up. Said, it’s kind of urgent. Some sort of vampire virus or something.”

“Or something,” Yena uttered quite perplexed at the fact that Wooyoung didn’t look fascinated by the possibility that there actually might be a vampire disease going around.

She almost sighed; right, she was the resident bacteria freak around here. Nevertheless, Yena focused on the vial in her hand with a new-found enthusiasm. This might actually prove to be quite interesting. But then her brain projected the image of that lousily cut onion in his hand, and she looked up at him again. “What. Are you doing?” she cocked an eyebrow.

“Umm…” Wooyoung looked like a deer caught in the headlights. “Cutting onions?” he suggested. Yena sighed, putting the vial down into the ice box. She closed it and got up from the table.

“Is that how you do it?” Yena walked closer and took the knife from him, pointing at the slanted cut line on the half of the onion Wooyoung held in his left hand.

He didn’t say a thing admitting his lousy cooking skills. Yena sighed grabbing another big and white onion head from the counter, setting it on the cutting board.

“This is how you do it,” she cast a glance at Wooyoung and lowered the knife onto the vegetable, beginning to chop it fast in thin and precise slices. _Chop-chop-chop-chop_ , the rhythm of the knife hitting the board was even and strong, Wooyoung could’ve actually danced to it. “See,” she looked up at him. “It’s all in the wrist, you don’t need to use the full length of the blade,” _chop-chop-chop-chop_.

“Umm…” Wooyoung stared at the cutting board. “Nuna… why’s your onion all red?”

“Huh?” Yena looked down. “Oh shit,” she pulled her left hand away immediately and put down the knife, hurrying towards the sink. “Oh great, just perfect,” there was a deep cut on her left forefinger, she was lucky she hadn’t cut her nail off. Turning the faucet on, she put her finger under the running water. “Wonderful,” she grumbled too shocked to feel pain. “Let the blood run free, dammit.”

Wooyoung floated towards the furthermost cupboard where he knew Yena kept her first aid kit. Opening the cupboard and snatching the box, he soared back to the sink in vampire speed. Yena was still standing with her finger under the lukewarm current of water.

Wooyoung opened the box pulling out a set of sticking plasters. He had heard that the scent of Yena’s blood wasn’t too appetizing and he felt quite calm, but he wasn’t taking sniffs through his nose just in case. If he needed to talk, he could breathe through his mouth.

Yena turned the faucet off and took a closer look at her finger. The cut was slanted, from the corner of her nail down past the first knuckle. She wondered how she was able to cut herself like that, but then again, she really could’ve ended up with only half of her nail left so that was kind of lucky in a sense. The finger was still bleeding buckets.

“Damn,” she grumbled. “Now I will really need Junho, can you go and wake him up, please?”

“What about the wound?” Wooyoung asked standing with a piece of Elastoplast in his hands, eyes on the narrow red line going down Yena’s finger. She held her hand above the sink, letting the blood trickle down into it.

“My blood has some trouble clotting,” she sighed frowning, as the pain from the cut finally registered in her brain. “It’ll take some time.”

Wooyoung stared at her finger worried. He wasn’t much of a science savvy, but he was pretty sure that anaemic people and blood loss didn’t go well together. He frowned, pursing his lips and shoving the adhesive plaster into his hoodie’s front pocket.

Not saying a single word, the youngling snatched at Yena’s wrist with his left hand, shoving two of his right-hand fingers into his mouth. Yena’s eyes widened as she immediately understood what he was up to.

“Do you have any idea about the bacteria on your hand right there?!” she blurted out hastily, pointing at the fingers in his mouth. Wooyoung blinked pulling his fingers away.

“Vampire bacteria are that bad?” he asked concerned.

“Not the vampire bacteria, the other germs,” Yena’s face contorted with disgust. “You were touching everything around here, the food, the counter, the knife… and what not…”

“Well,” he blinked, thinking fast. “If the vampire bacteria are ok… Is your blood really as bitter as everyone says it is?”

“I guess…?” Yena mumbled puzzled. “Why?” her eyes widened. “Wait— What? Why? Don’t even… Wai—”

“I’m sorry,” Wooyoung apologized and pulled Yena’s hand close to himself, taking her bleeding finger into his mouth.

Yena froze. She wanted to scream her head off.

 

 ---

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Regular update schedule? I don't know her.  
> I promise I will work less than 3.5 jobs in my next life.
> 
> That said, it's very nice to see that this story does get new views even when I don't update it, thank you :)  
> I had this one thought editing this chapter, and I don't know if anyone wondered about it, but I wanted to give my point of view on the use of Korean terms in this fic.
> 
> It's a lot more sporadic in this re-post than in the original I wrote years ago.  
> For the most part, I try to avoid using them, and I put them in only when I want to emphasize the dynamics or when I feel there's no other way around the situation but to use "hyung" or "nuna."
> 
> I don't think the characters would be using them as much when they speak in English. And I don't really think that using them adds up to the authenticity? I often see other writers use all these words and titles and honorifics, but that usage almost always stutters when they try to apply it to all the relationships in their stories, and the English language just doesn't lend itself to it or the author lacks understanding of how Korean titles and terms work.
> 
> If you remember how Yena cringed at Bobby's use of "eonni" in the beginning of the story, that's me, lol.  
> Too each their own, and I have nothing against other people using it. But as someone who speaks Korean, I try to distance myself from the extensive use of these terms in the English language. That just doesn't resonate too well with me.


	10. #10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🔷 Wooyoung finds out he has an interesting taste.  
> 🔷 Emma also gets a... taste.  
> 🔷 Chansung's brief acquaintance with someone toxic.  
> 🔷 Bobby doubting Chansung's teaching methods.

_Edinburgh, present day_

 

There she stood in her kitchen with a vampire baby suckling at her bleeding finger. She already found the act itself quite repulsive, but on the top of that, the person licking at her non-disinfected finger was a young vampire, who usually failed at self-control when exposed to human blood.

Of course, she believed her condition would give her an upper-hand in the situation, and the unsavoury taste of her blood would stop him from devouring her right here and now. Plus, he looked healthy and even slightly flushed which, Yena concluded, could only mean he had fed some time earlier.

Making herself focus on what was happening, she looked directly at Wooyoung, more than half of his face hidden behind the curtain of his silky jet-black hair. She wanted to touch it.

Yena kicked herself mentally because it was not the time to think about it. She almost squeaked when she felt his lukewarm tongue run over the wound. Then there was a light suction applied, the tongue slithered across her skin again, and she didn’t know how her knees didn’t buckle. Her body worked on auto-pilot now because Yena was too afraid to move, afraid she might crumble into the tiniest smithereens.

Wooyoung pulled away to see that the cut had stopped bleeding. He pulled a plaster out from his pocket and quickly taped it around Yena’s finger, quite satisfied with himself, forgetting he still had traces of her blood in his mouth. His tongue instinctively scattered it around, testing the taste. Wooyoung blinked and looked up at her, the small smug smile suddenly leaving his lips. He swallowed carefully, looking rather shell-shocked. The youngling took one step back. Yena sighed.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” she checked whether the adhesive was attached correctly and noticed that her hands were shaking slightly. Great. “Told you my blood was kinda gross, now look at you,” she gave him an eye. “You know what?” she continued as the boy remained mute, standing there like a statue. “Leave this to me, and go wake Junho up, ok? I know it’s almost impossible to wake you up from this black out you guys call sleep, but try using a UV flashlight. That should work. I think there still are quite a few in the attic, ok?” she even pulled something akin to a smile.

Wooyoung finally looked her directly in the eye and nodded slowly.

“Yes, I think, I’d better leave,” he mumbled and walked away after giving her another slight nod.

Yena watched him go thinking her blood must’ve really grossed him out. But there was nothing she could do about it. Shrugging and taking the knife back into her healthy hand, she was determined to be done with this soup before Junho came down to help her.

Wooyoung jogged up the stairs and walked down the hall, skipping Junho’s door and quickly opening his own. Walking into his room, he closed the door, leaning against it and slowly sliding down as his knees finally gave way.

He flopped on the floor, shutting out every single human sense he could. He couldn’t take the slightest sniff because he thought he might start hyperventilating.

Wooyoung covered his mouth with his hand, his brain almost on the verge of hysteria. He thought, natural or not, there was definitely something wrong with him. Very wrong. His dark eyes darted back and forth and for a second there, he was glad he was no longer human, because otherwise he clearly would’ve thrown a fit.

Willing the rosy curtain away from his eyes, Wooyoung tried pulling himself together. Yena’s blood was the best thing he’s ever tasted in his vampire life.

 

 

_Joseon, 1450s_

 

Darkness left gradually, and his eyes opened almost before his mind kicked in again.

That… was not his lair. He was in a cave. A very wide and spacious cave. Noticing the entrance, he suddenly wanted to back away because it was big enough for a cavalry to go through, and there were sun rays falling on a dark brown stone from the outside, but then he realized he was already sitting slumped against the wall. Part of the cave was dented inwards enough to be away from the sun at a safe distance. Not to mention, the sun rays fell no further than two or three paces from the entrance. The hideout seemed to be well thought through.

He frowned as pain finally hit him, and his memory lurched in full swing. He remembered running through the so-called demon forest. He was in a hurry and a little bit careless, he had to admit it. He would’ve never expected anyone to assault him in such a place.

He remembered the vampire hunters, the staves in his calves and the silver chains. At some point he knew he lost consciousness and he was pretty sure he had been done for, but for some reason, he believed this was neither vampire heaven, nor hell.

He took a deep breath through his nose and his eyes opened wider. It felt like someone hit him hard straight in the face.

There was a vampire here. A female vampire. With a tinge to her scent he’s never smelled before. And for a moment, he had to wait until the impact of the first intake would evaporate from his clouded brain. It felt a little bit too strong. He figured he was too tired and his senses were all over the place. Nevertheless, he had to check what the deal was.

Carefully looking around and sitting up straight, he noticed a small figure at the other end of the cave, kneeling in front of something that looked like some animal carcass. He narrowed his eyes. Probably a boar.

He blinked slowly, taking in really short trousers and sleeveless upper garment. There were lots of pale skin and he couldn’t take his eyes off that waist-length light brown hair, braided into one long thick plait. When she eventually turned around, he saw steely blue eyes and for a moment, he really believed demons existed. But then she noticed him watching and her small face with rather strict noble cheekbones and high nose lit up in a warm smile.

“Oh, you are awake,” she uttered in a perfect Joseon speech, talking in the formal style with all the honorific particles in place. “How are you feeling?” she stood up with a small dark bowl in hand and headed towards him, bypassing the sunrays on the cave floor.

He took another careful sniff as she was walked over and again, the scent hit him so hard he decided to breathe only through his mouth and only when he needed to talk.

“Did…” his voice sounded low and rough. He coughed to clear his throat. “Did you save me?”

“I should have done it sooner,” she knelt in front of him wearing an apologetic smile. Her lips were rather thin, he noticed. “I saw them wait in the ambush, but…” she looked down at the bowl in her hands. “Oh, umm…” raising it up, she seemed to be rather hesitant. “I am sorry, it is daytime and I cannot go outside to hunt. You have lost a lot of blood and, I am afraid, this is the best I can come up with at the moment,” she offered him the bowl, and he took a careful sniff.

“Wild boar blood,” he said and she nodded.

“I am sorry, I…” he reached out and touched her wrist. It was small and delicate. He pulled back immediately, noticing how she tensed at the touch.

“Don’t be,” he said taking the bowl. “I owe you my life,” and he drank the animal blood feeling terribly thirsty.

“I could not just stand watching,” she said getting up. “I cannot stand vampires who cannot take care of their problems.”

“Are you saying they were hired?” he gulped down the fresh blood. It really wasn’t the best he could wish for, but even so, he could already feel it work on his body. The pain in his shins was slowly easing away.

“That is what I heard them say,” she waited until he was done drinking and gave her the bowl back. She cast a fleeting glance at his wrists. His wounds were closing successfully fast.

“Then I need to leave as soon as possible,” he stared at his own fingers. “They will come looking for me.”

She chuckled lightly, walking away from him. He looked up unable to keep his eyes off her gait. There was something different about her. Rather than taking her for a demon, he realized she was a vampire from another land. A faraway land. Even though she was fluent in the Joseon language, there was still a slight accent that sounded quite soft on his ears.

“Humans would be too scared to come after me,” she said putting the bowl down on the ground and gripping the drained boar by its hind legs with her right hand. “And they would not be able to track the scent unless their dogs have wings,” she walked the closest to the exit she could.

“You’re good at flying?” he asked watching her take a stance with her legs slightly spread apart as if she was about to throw a very heavy stone.

“Rather than that,” she said swinging her arm and effortlessly throwing the drained boar away. “I like the trees,” she smiled shielding her eyes with her hand and narrowing them so she could look better into the daylight.

He thought he finally got it, why she looked different. Her femurs were longer in comparison to her overall body proportions, and she looked rounder in places despite the fact she was lean and well-built. She just looked… different from what he was used to.

“Have you been here for a long time?” he asked, forcing his mind to focus on something else. For example, who would’ve been desperate enough to hire human vampire hunters to get rid of him. He snorted inwardly. There were quite a few names coming to his mind. He would need to track those hunters down once the sun sets. Picking up a human trace wouldn’t be hard for someone like him.

“Twenty years or so…” her voice pulled him out of his reverie.

She stood still at the very edge of the entrance, just a little bit further from where the sunrays could reach. He wanted to ask why, how, and where from she had come from, but his head felt woozy and his ears pricked at an alien noise. He rose to his feet before his body could scream at him it was still too early to do that. Before he could confirm there was real danger.

He soared across the cave, snatching her along with him and hiding in the furthermost and darkest corner, pressed tight against a cold wall. Focusing on the entrance, he was expecting a whole cavalry to enter soon and he hated how weak his body felt. He had to make sure that not even a drop of his blood was spilt. It wasn’t so much about the blood loss in general. The problem was that the scent of his blood was strong enough to give him away anytime and anywhere.

He needed either a good rest or a good feed. He thought of the girl, fitting perfectly in his arms. There was no way he could do that. She was a vampire. Vampires didn’t feed on each other.

“What are you doing?” she mumbled surprised, her nose stuck in his collarbone.

“Someone’s coming,” he rasped.

Small fingers carefully wrapped around his shoulders and slowly pushed him away. He glanced down expecting to see her look at him, but her gaze was unfocused. It was like she was listening to something far away, her lips slightly parted over her front teeth. He wanted to breathe her in.

“No,” she said eventually, blinking and looking up at him, pushing him further away from herself. “No one is coming.”

She let go, walking away from him, and he slowly sank down against the wall. He was too tired to feel embarrassed.

“I think…” she stopped and turned back at him, giving his slumped figure a calculating look. “You should sleep for the rest of the day. I shall stay here if anything…”

“How old are you?” he asked out of the blue when her scent hit him again. He just couldn’t place it. At the same time, he thought he could use her piece of advice.

She blinked, looking as if she had missed something important.

“A bit over 200 years old,” she smiled. “My name is Emma, by the way. What about you?”

He was still digesting slowly the given information, when her question caught him unawares. Why of course, he should’ve been expecting that. Self-introduction was an important part of communication after all. He hesitated. Even though she did save him, he didn’t know if he could trust her.

“Sangdoo,” he said eventually. “I’m 300.”

“Nice to meet you, Sangdoo,” she smiled angling her head, sitting back on the floor, and hugging her knees. “You should really get some rest, your wounds are healed, but you still seem tired.”

“Where are you from?” he asked laying down on the ground and getting himself more comfortable, putting his hands on his stomach and finally noticing how ruined his clothes were.

“Do you want me to talk?” she chuckled.

“Yes, your voice is rather soothing,” he pointed out.

“Oh,” she looked flattered. “Alright…” looking away she wondered where she should begin. “I come from an island at the other end of the world. Where the sun sets. It…”

He closed his eyes and blacked out listening to her voice, dreaming of a faraway green land veiled in perpetual fog. Not that the vampires could dream often. In fact, dreams were unusual and very rare, but in the corner of his mind, he was sure it was not his imagination.

He didn’t spur his mind to it; the visions were coming to him on their own. And he knew he could never just imagine it because he was walking through a thick lush forest in sunlight, the rays playing on his exposed shoulder, keeping him warm.

He looked around, noticing a big tree with a hollow inside. It felt like it was calling out to him.

More fascinated with the alluring tree than the fact he could walk out in the sun, he took a few steps closer and looked inside the dark grey hollow trunk. He frowned.

Something glistened inside, and he reached out to try and take it. Touching a sleek and narrow surface with his long and strong fingers, he pulled out a vial full of translucent liquid. It looked dazzling in the sunlight. The vial had a funny light blue lid; he’d never seen anything like it. He wasn’t sure if the liquid inside was edible, but he wanted to try it out. He would have, if it weren’t for the sun that suddenly disappeared.

He opened his eyes realizing it was his body’s automatic reaction to sunset. The heaviness was gone, he felt a lot better, and he sat up with ease. Red evening glow fell on the ground at the entrance, and she sat right next to the sunlight line holding her hand up high, exposed to the last rays of the setting sun.

He blinked. Her hand was directly in the course of the falling sunrays. Her face looked serene and absolutely calm.

Something clicked in his mind and he jumped to his feet, his memory kicking in. A few hundred years old events emerged right in front of his eyes, as if it had been yesterday. The same serene eyes, the same calm smile, and the blue flame engulfing and destroying everything. Something got caught in his throat and he lunged at her, scooping her in his arms and dragging her away from the setting sun, further into the dent of the cave, pushing her to the wall, feeling more scared than angry.

“Are you out of your mind?!” he roared his nostrils flaring and taking in deep breaths of air.

He forgot about breathing through his mouth. With his senses wired, it hit him like a mountain avalanche.

Emma opened her eyes wide, surprised to see him like this. He towered above her, with her eyes at his shoulder level, his hands clutching tight at her wrists.

“Sangdoo,” she breathed. “I am sorry to have startled you. It is alright, I have always been slightly more resistant to sun, look,” Emma opened her palm and it really didn’t look scorched, just slightly red. Like a faint sunburn.

He felt nonplussed and out of balance. With the scent hitting his senses, he could no longer think straight, everything seemed surreal. His mind went into an overdrive. He didn’t know why he got angry.

“What kind of joke is this?” he narrowed his sharp eyes. Grabbing a hold of her shoulders, he shook her lightly. “Do you have any idea what that…” his eyes then widened, his grip growing stronger. “Who sent you?”

“Whu--?” she frowned, the words flowing a lot faster now, in a less polite manner. “What? I think you’re not in the right state of mind. No one’s trying to hurt you here.”

“Right, expose yourself to the sun, and make me feel like crap,” he sounded almost manic, as if she had unawares poked him where it hurt. A lot. “Seems too specific to me. Who sent you and what do you want?” his eyebrows shot up. “Did they stage that ambush, so you could gain my trust?”

“What?” her dark eyebrows knotted in a frown. She couldn’t believe this. Her brain scrambled for the right word for how she felt. It was probably indignation. Everyone had their issues, but she wasn’t about to let him drop all of his on her.

“What do you want?!” he shook her harder now.

She took a deep breath trying to calm down, but it only made her focus more on the raw anger growing deep inside, rather than on the rational part of mind that said this man here was not to be challenged.

“What I want?” she scoffed. “I want…” her voice dropped to a bare whisper when she met his eyes. “I want to lick you from head to toes, and then have you over there at that wall,” she cast a brief glance behind him. “Where sunset would lick at your feet, but you’d be too preoccupied with me to notice them burn.”

He blinked caught by surprise and let go of her shoulders. Words rolled off her tongue without hesitation. Every single whisper felt like a bittersweet lash on his skin. Her face looked stoic and devoid of emotion, but he could see a slight flush on her cheeks.

Emma looked away from him and slowly walked to the other side of the cave right next to the exit. After a few moments, the sun sank behind the horizon, leaving nothing but the evening dusk behind.

“I don’t care what your deal is,” her polite façade crumbled, and she switched into plain forms with such ease, he almost felt like she was a different person. “You can lie about your age and your name, I don’t care,” she cocked an eyebrow looking back at him and he flinched slightly.

Of course, she could tell, he cursed inwardly. He didn’t smell like a 300-year-old. Even if he reined everything in.

“But I won’t stand being questioned,” her voiced pulled him back in. “When my only intention was to help you. You ungrateful bastard… Don’t come near me!” she warned as he took a few steps towards her, his face absolutely blank. He stopped. “Because I meant it,” she eyed him up and down, and then looked away, focusing on something far away in the forest. “Your scent is ridiculous,” she grumbled sitting down and pulling her knees to her chest.

He stood there in the middle of the cave until the evening got a few shades darker, neither of them stirring a single muscle. Then, after what seemed like hours of hesitation, he walked slowly towards the cave entrance and sat down a few steps away from her, keeping his distance.

“When I take you in,” he began calmly, keeping his head down, his eyes hidden behind his long black bangs. “It gets so heavy here,” he put his left hand to his temple. “It feels like my head is being squeezed and struck at the same time,” he felt her shift and he knew he had her attention. “Like all the air is being sucked out of my lungs, and I’m suffocating. I don’t need it, I know it. But my head is spinning. It’s so frustrating, but…” he finally looked up at her meeting her eyes. “The scary thing is… I like it.”

She regarded him carefully, but nothing gave away what she really thought or felt. Her face was a perfect emotionless mask.

“The hell is that,” she rammed her elbow into her knee and rested her head on her hand. “As far as our kind goes, I’m not even that sensitive to scents.”

“It feels stronger than imprint,” he said.

Her gaze wavered and for a moment there, she glanced wistfully somewhere behind him, pulling a wry smirk.

“I don’t think I can recall what that felt like…” she shrugged. “The final imprint just doesn’t cut it.”

He nodded slowly. The implication was clear. Although she was old enough to roam on her own and it no longer mattered, at the end of the line, she was, indeed, an orphan. She had never been too fond of her maker, but the fact alone would often make others regard her with pity. This Sangdoo or whatever his name was, however, didn’t look at her like that. In the thick evening twilight that was on the verge of tumbling into velvet night, she saw understanding.

Emma bit her lip and eyed him up and down again. Insects were terribly loud outside.

“Can I just…” she began.

“What?” he asked curiously watching her unfold her legs.

“Just stay there,” she said stretching her legs in front of her and lying down on the cold stone.

He blinked when she closed her eyes and clasped her hands across her stomach. It moved before he heard her take a very deep breath. What followed was a low whine as she struggled to stop her body from writhing with waves of bittersweet pleasure that assaulted her brain the moment his scent reached her. His hands quivered at his sides and he clenched them into tight fists.

“This doesn’t make sense,” he heard her say and found her watching him again when he looked up to focus on her face. “Is this what being a tracker feels like?”

“I don’t think so,” he laughed sadly, annoyed he had no idea what was going on and disappointed with himself that he didn’t want to leave. Leaving would’ve been wise. Tracking down traitors and reuniting with his allies should’ve been his top priority, but instead he took another breath again and his hands shot up to clasp at his head when he heaved a low sigh, the sensation too overwhelming to comprehend.

He blinked slowly and looked at her over the bend of his elbow to see her watching him. There was a strange balance between the silence of the cave behind them and the nocturnal noise of the forest outside. They regarded each other dumbly for so long that the moment stretched and the sounds around them blurred into indescribable blob. The cacophonous blob gradually grew into a static silence so tense one could cut it with a knife. Without realizing it, they held their breaths until the effect of their scents seemed to have worn off, and the next time they both breathed each other in, he found her in his lap, thighs clenched tight around his hips, small but strong hands pinning his shoulders onto the ground. Her eyes were dark, grey blue irises almost gone.

“There’s no sunset to burn me,” he reminded her, when his hands instinctively rested on her hips.

“I’m quite resourceful,” she promised with her nose brushing against his, and then she crushed their lips together, angling her head and forcing his jaw open without any preamble. His fingers gripped at the flesh around her hip bones.

She was strong, but not aggressive. Demanding, but not overbearing. He could feel her scent on his tongue whenever she exhaled through her mouth. Whenever he would take a breath through his nose, the scent would hit him hard, clouding his brain, stripping him off of the ability to think properly.

He thrust up when she pressed her hips down, earning a deep guttural grunt from somewhere at the back of her throat. She pulled back with her lips swollen, and he watched her slip her nimble fingers under whatever was left of his shirt to tear it off.

Emma stuttered for a second when she breathed him in again, but then her hands carefully but surely slid up his sides, travelling at a tantalizing speed. Her fingers swiped absentmindedly across his nipples, and his hips bucked up before he could even think about it. He growled sitting up with her clinging tight to his lap, and his hands dragged up from her hips, his left clutching at her waist, and his right clasping her nape and pulling her closer. Her hands gripped at his shoulders when his nose stuck into the bend of her neck, nuzzling and kissing, and she threw her head back, eyes fluttering shut.

His scent enveloped her like a thick fog. Its silky cool tendrils slithered across her skin and seeped into her mind, squeezing and pulsing, knocking the breath out of her lungs, making her breathe him in more and more. Somewhere, at the back corner of her head, her senses were telling her that she didn’t need to breathe to survive. She knew it. But her body quivered like a bowstring begging to be released, and she couldn’t fight it.

There was a sharp prickle at the flesh of her neck, and she gasped, her fingers digging deep into his shoulders. Vaguely, she registered it was a fang. One fang. He dragged one sharp fang down her neck and across her shoulder, ploughing it without much effort, and then she shivered when she realized his tongue tagged along with it, licking at the narrow bloody line that the fang had left behind.

His arm across her waist pulled her closer, and he whimpered with a great shudder, his forehead resting against her shoulder. Emma stopped breathing and suddenly the sounds of the nocturnal forest assaulted her as if she had just emerged from underwater. For a very short moment there, her mind was crystal clear. That is, until he leaned back and focused on her with a dazed look on his face. Her blood still glistened in the corner of his mouth.

“I’m not as clean as you,” he reached out for her cheek carefully. When she didn’t pull away, he cupped it with such reverence that it made her lose her grip on him. “It’s not a good idea,” he breathed through his mouth, although that didn’t help much. “I can’t spill my blood; trackers must be all over the mountai--…”

He hissed when she rolled her hips against him experimentally, waiting for his reaction. Her scent licked at him like fire, burning brighter and hotter with each moment that passed, until there was nothing, but one notion left in his mind. Here and now.

He cupped her face with both hands now, searching for something in her eyes. Emma wanted to tell him she didn’t need his blood. She wasn’t even sure she could take it, seeing how devastating was his scent alone. But there he suddenly looked so cute biting at his cheeks and she almost chuckled, until he actually clenched his jaw tight and grunted in pain, dark blood painting the corners of his mouth.

Her eyes widened in disbelief that he had actually bitten inside his mouth, but before she could process it properly, he pulled her closer and pressed his lips to hers. Instinctively, she opened her mouth without any second thought, her tongue darting out to meet his, but then his blood reached her palate, and her senses went haywire. Her eyes rolled shut.

He heard a low moan, and then he was tackled back onto the ground. With rich whimpers, she licked deep into his mouth, trying to reach every single trace of blood, and when there was nothing left, she bit hard on his lower lip and sucked on it until the wound closed. His hands shook on her thighs.

“This freaks the hell out of me,” she whispered against his mouth and he opened his eyes to see her watch him with heavy-lidded eyes. “But you feel too good.”

Groaning like a starved man finally allowed to feast, he tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her close, slotting their lips together and holding her as close as possible without crushing each other’s bones.

Determined to make the moment last, he drew it out with their hands and lips, and teeth all over each other. They touched, and kissed, and bit, and grazed their fangs against soft skin, deep enough to draw blood, but never enough to spill it, never enough to satisfy the thirst.

His stomach clenched when the tip of her tongue followed the outline of his upper lip, and his hand slipped under her flimsy shirt right when her fang sunk into his bottom lip again. She whined when his taste hit her again, his long fingers drawing circles on her naked skin.

Her scent burned him like small tongues of fire. It crept into his brain, threatening to severe all the links of reason, and he found he wouldn’t have minded that. With his guard down, he let his senses roam free, let himself be ravaged by the growing fire with each breath he took.

A twig snapped. Down at the foot of the mountain, too far away for anyone else to notice, but it wasn’t part of the seamless cacophony of forest sounds. She stilled with her tongue at the vein on his neck, and listened. There was another snap, and this time, he heard it, too.

They froze, their breaths held, the fog covering their minds slowly scattering. He didn’t want to let go, but she slowly got off him, and help him get up to his feet. Emma stared at the cold rock in the night, listening to the foreign sounds coming all the way up to her hideout.

“The noise doesn’t belong to this forest,” she said, her mussed hair falling on her shoulders and down her lean back.

“They’re looking for me,” he nodded stepping closer to the exit. His scent spiked with apprehension, and she almost choked when she realized how big his presence was.

His scent and blood had a different effect, but now with her senses reined in again, she was hit in the head with his sheer aura. The presence he’d stopped controlling and hiding, and had unleashed when her fang had sunk into his skin. His taste had overshadowed everything before, but now his sheer power felt like a punch. Her hands shook.

He looked out into the night, a conflicted crease marring his forehead.

“It’s not safe,” he said and turned to look at her again. Emma held her breath. He gripped at her arms carefully and leaned down, looking her straight in the eye. “I have to go,” he breathed apologetically. “But promise me you will leave, too.”

She blinked.

“They don’t need me.”

“They will, if they find out you were with me,” he sounded urgent, like he was scared for her safety. Maybe he was. “And they will. My scent is too strong, and they have good trackers.”

“I…”

“Emma,” he insisted holding her gaze. She shivered at the sensation of her name on his lips. “Promise me you will leave,” his hands gripped her tighter.

“I promise,” she nodded absent-mindedly, her stomach queasy with the sheer power around her. His shoulders went slack and he breathed a small sigh of relief.

The nocturnal songs outside have grown silent as the foreign noise of someone wading through the forest interrupted the usual routine. The animals were on high alert. Emma’s spine tingled with slight anxiety. He looked outside again, feeling lousier than lousy. He cursed inwardly and turned to look at her.

Gently cupping her cheek, he leaned in close and kissed away a drop of dried blood from the corner of her mouth.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. Her eyes darted all over his face.

He would’ve torn himself into two if he could’ve. He wanted to stay, he wanted to say something else, but no matter what he would’ve told her, it wouldn’t have solved anything. With one more apologetic glance, he turned and soared away into the night.

Emma’s knees gave and she slumped to the ground. She blinked, her brain hardly registering what had just happened here. This man felt like he could take out an entire army, and she literally had been just a hairsbreadth away from humping the guy. Fear crept up her neck and snatched at her mind making her nauseated.

Locking her fingers together to stop them from shaking, she licked her lips slowly, her mouth still full of the taste of this Sangdoo guy. His scent was still all over her. She suddenly felt a gut-wrenching urge to scrub it all off.

At the end, she had nothing. She was sure he had given her the wrong name and age. He must’ve had his own reasons, and that presence he’d unleashed just now must’ve been one of them. Emma wasn’t stupid. No 300-year-old vampire felt like that. No 500-year-old vampire felt like that. He was way older.

 

 

 

He rose from where he had been lying on a thick white blanket spread across the floor and propped his elbow against the pillow, leaning his weight onto it. The room was simple: wooden floor and walls with a rice-paper folding screen and two sliding doors, one leading to the inside of the main house and the other opening straight into the inner yard. The door leading outside was now open and a calm evening twilight fused softly with the dimness that hovered in the room.

Chansung watched her put on her clothes and tie down all the laces tight. She had a petite constitution that made her look like a small fragile doll, but the first impression was definitely misleading: She was nowhere close to cute or sweet. He didn’t really know if it had anything to do with it, but to him, the best evidence of her true nature was her hair. Although she wore her clothes tight and almost constricting to the point of discomfort, her long dark wavy hair was always loose. She never tied it up in a bun or queued in a plait, giving her a kind of an untamed image.

Her personality was just as wild as her hair. Chansung liked that. He always considered himself to be quiet and taciturn, unable to keep the conversation going for a long while, so someone with a perky and sociable nature was quite a match for him. That is, of course, if they were to follow the pattern of human relationship, which they weren’t. In their current situation, Chansung could never know what might happen tomorrow, especially as he was left on his own at the moment, with Minjun wandering around the northern parts of Joseon territory.

Minjun was one of the few people that the Prince could trust, so the old Silla vampire would get appointed with random assignments from time to time. Normally, Chansung would tag along because he was still very young and required occasional guidance. However, this was the time when his young age went against him. Minjun thought it would be safer to leave him alone for a few years than take him along. He trusted Chansung and he knew that Prince’s people would always help him if the youngling found himself in trouble too deep to get out of it on his own.

What Minjun didn’t foresee, though, was Chansung finding himself a girl. Or a partner. Or a person to spend his free time with. Well, whatever you might call this strange vampire relationship. Because Chansung knew this wasn’t love. He sure was fond of her, but he had been instructed quite clearly even with actual examples of what happens when two vampires fall in love. The way Chansung understood the concept, once you fall in, no way would you ever fall out. And the feeling was supposed to be so strong it would rival or even surpass the imprint effect. So, he wasn’t in love.

This was also nowhere near the vampire union that was based on social status and mutual benefit. Well, there was definitely some mutual benefit – Chansung smiled smugly to himself – but with him being just ten, and her only five years of vampire age, they were more like babies playing around, testing the waters and having fun.

Although she had just told him that she was leaving, and Chansung wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

He furrowed his eyebrows slightly, puffing a stray strand of coal-black hair away from his eyes. He had learned that vampire hair grows ten times slower, but after ten years, his thick mane was already down past his shoulders. It was a stark contrast to his pale skin.

“When will you be back?” he asked calmly as she finished fussing with her outfit and now stood straight with her back at him.

“I am not sure,” she shrugged and turned to look at him. “Master says she wants to travel down to the Ming land, but she has not mentioned anything about going back to Joseon.”

Chansung sat up straight with his legs crossed, the blanket wrapped around his lap. His hands landed absent-mindedly on his feet, and his fingers began massaging his soles.

“It’s a pity,” he said. “Then, I guess, this is a good-bye…”

Her eyes narrowed as she glared sharply at him.

“Aren’t you going to wait for me?” she asked with a tinge of threat in her tone.

“But you don’t know when or if you’re coming back,” Chansung blinked. “It might take decades… centuries…”

“So?” she cocked one eyebrow. “I’ll be very pissed if you take another woman into your arms, Hwang Chansung.”

“What if someone takes YOU into their arms while you’re away from me?” Chansung suggested, listening to the slowly fading noises from outside of the courtyard wall. It was getting very late in the city.

“That should be none of your concern,” she declared, and Chansung’s first reaction was to laugh out loud, but the serious look in her eyes shut his mouth tight. She wasn’t joking. Chansung mused silently to himself that yes, she definitely was possessive, but he could have never guessed her egoism had advanced to such extent.

“Minkyung,” he sighed. “You have to realize that I don’t own my freedom as well. I’m still dependent on my hyung. If he decides to leave and go somewhere, and take me with him, I’ll have to obey. I won’t be able to stay here, waiting for you forever.”

“He’s not your master,” she pointed out folding her arms across her chest. A crease formed in between his eyebrows. Chansung didn’t like it when people talked like this about his hyung. He felt extremely protective of Minjun, and he believed that wasn’t solely because of the imprint.

“No, but he imprinted on me and he’s as close to a master as you can get,” Chansung declared. “I don’t know any other master but him.”

Minkyung offered him a sweet smile. She walked up to him, kneeled down, and took his face into her hands to kiss him good-bye.

“You poor fatherless baby,” Chansung wanted to cringe at the pity ringing in her voice. “Nevertheless, keep in mind what I’ve said,” she planted a juicy kiss on his lips and pulled away. “I’ll be seeing you,” Minkyung smirked and ran off through the open door, crossing the yard and jumping over the wall, disappearing into the night.

Suddenly Chansung wished this “I’ll-be-seeing-you” didn’t happen be too soon. He didn’t understand at first, but he felt genuinely hurt.

 

 

_Edinburgh, present day_

 

Well of course, it was cold. What else it could’ve been. When they told her that this place was used for dance practice, she should’ve realized it meant VAMPIRE dance practice. Vampires didn’t feel cold. Annoying parasites.

Bobby wrapped herself tight in her broad wool scarf, shivering in her trainers and dark pink sportswear. She should’ve realized a t-shirt, joggers, and a thin sweatshirt wouldn’t be enough, but when one heard the word “training,” one clearly imagined lots of exercise and sweat, so she didn’t want to end up sweating like a pig.

However, as of now, she was shivering like an asp leaf. Bobby doubted it was warmer than +10°C in the warehouse, and with her body being terribly susceptible to cold, she was bound to suffer from a serious case of hypothermia if nothing was to be done soon enough.

“To think Khun really installed mirrors in this place,” Chansung stood right in front of the huge mirrors looking around, seemingly interested in everything like a small child.

“W-well, ff-ff-for dance p-practice d-they’re ss-sorta ne-necessary,” Bobby stuttered as her teeth clattered against each other.

Chansung turned around to find her standing far at the opposite wall. A crease formed in between his eyebrows, when he noticed how pale she looked. Perhaps the image of his barefoot figure in nothing but black joggers and a white t-shirt only made it worse. She was close to flopping on their bags over there. Or maybe he shouldn’t have arranged her first workout on a Sunday morning.

The crease in between his eyebrows got even deeper, and he slowly walked towards the shivering girl.

“I’m sorry about that,” he said halting right in front of her. “I promise it will get better after the work-out, ok?” Chansung lowered his head, questioning her with his big doe eyes. Bobby stared until her brain reminded her, she was supposed to express her agreement in one way or the other. She nodded twice, unable to say a word.

They had decided to wait for a few days until she got stronger before getting down to this “how to survive a vampire attack” training. It didn’t take more than a week though. Her bruises were gradually fading away, and the stitches in her head were supposed to be taken out anytime soon. Young body was indeed very eager and quick to recover. Nevertheless, her face screwed up like a baked apple at the word “work-out.”

“Do we have to?” she whined. Chansung smiled putting both of his hands on her shoulders.

“Yes,” he said.

Bobby winced slightly at the touch, expecting to feel another bout of cold seeping through her clothes. Not that the vampires were icy. They were more like… simply cold with a tendency towards being lukewarm, especially when they would spike up their metabolism.

But even though Chansung’s hands were planted firmly on her shoulders, she didn’t go through another bout of shivers. Bobby did feel the weight, and pressure, and all, but… She blinked, wait a second… warmth?

She frowned looking up at him.  Pulling one of her hands out of her sweatshirt’s pocket, she placed her palm on top of his. Given that her hands were freezing, his skin didn’t feel any colder than hers. In fact, perhaps it was even a little bit warmer.

“Are you faking your metabolism?” she asked suspiciously.

“No,” he blinked. “Why?”

“How come you’re… so warm?”

“Ah,” Chansung pulled away, staring at his hands. “I don’t know,” he smiled meeting her eyes. “I’ve always been slightly warmer than the rest. Yena says my core temperature ranges from 23 to 25 degrees.”

“Celsius?” Bobby’s mouth gaped open.

“Yes,” he nodded.

“But…” she suddenly forgot she was terribly cold. “But that’s even… I don’t know… you’re not even dead,” she cringed a little saying that. “23 degrees… that’s just a severe case of hypothermia from the human perspective.”

“No one’s ever said vampires are dead,” Chansung smirked. “We’re not zombies, you know…”

Bobby pursed her lips tight. She could swear she’d heard something like that before. Must’ve been Taec’s influence spreading around the coven.

“Then… what’s the usual vampire body temp?” she asked rubbing her hands together.

“Around 18 degrees?” Chansung shrugged. Bobby’s eyes widened.

“You’re not SLIGHTLY warmer. You’re hot!” she squeaked and then blinked realizing what it must’ve sounded like. “Anyways,” Bobby shook her head, her long wavy hair swaying back and forth. “You must feel liked a walking heater for the rest.”

“Yes, well, I’ve been told I feel like a furnace once or twice,” he nodded smiling tenderly and tapped her on her shoulder. “Tie your hair, it will get in the way if you leave it like this,” Chansung turned around and headed towards the mirrors.

Come to think of it, this petite human girl with unruly hair and big brown eyes reminded him of someone. Someone who would make his daily experiences quite “interesting” (if we were to put it that way) whenever they met.

The tall vampire watched Bobby’s reflection in the mirror, as she quickly plaited her hair and secured it with a band. He had to admit it though, despite some physical similarities, Bobby’s personality had nothing in common with that other person. And he was thankful for that.

“Come on over,” he called and Bobby jogged towards him, her face and hands still slightly purple from the cold.

“What do we do?” she asked slightly worried because she has never been too agile or too fast. Chansung grinned.

“Pure physical practice first. Just follow me,” he plopped down on the floor and spread his legs wide, leaning forwards. “We start from stretching.”

Bobby wanted to die.

This work-out thing took no more than 30 minutes, but by the time Chansung allowed her to take a break, she realized she had muscles in places she thought never existed before. She knew she would be having trouble getting up for college on Monday.

Her inner thighs and the area around her ribs ached so bad she thought something got ripped. It felt like one pulled apart a string that was not supposed to be stretchy and now it was never going to be back to normal. She felt like Plastic Man – unable to pull back anything after a terrible session of wear and tear… or maybe just tear. Bobby had to admit though, she no longer felt cold.

“I’ll just lie down for a little bit,” she gasped when Chansung told her she could rest for a while as he walked away to grab his bag. Her forehead hit the cold floor. She didn’t care.

“Don’t lie on bare floor,” she heard him say and turned her head right to see a slanted image of Hwang Chansung walking back towards her with his backpack slung over his forearm.

He hadn’t even broken a sweat. Oh right. Vampires didn’t sweat. Unless they felt like it. Bastards. Bobby pouted when Chansung unzipped his bag pulling out a light blue blanket and throwing it at her. The blanket landed straight on her face.

“Hey!”

“Oops, sorry,” he giggled. “Spread it on the floor and then sit on it,” he instructed as Bobby pulled the blanket away from her face and sat up straight. “The floor’s nothing but raw concrete, you’ll catch a cold if you lie on it.”

“Sure, sure,” Bobby sighed, folding the blanket in four layers.

She placed it on the floor and slowly curled herself onto it, careful not to strain any of the few remaining tendons that were still ok. Chansung sat in front of her on the bare floor with his legs crossed, rummaging through his backpack. Bobby’s stomach grumbled. Chansung looked up and stared at her, unable to believe his ears. Bobby wished a hole would open on the hard floor and swallow her whole.

“Did you eat breakfast?” he asked narrowing his eyes.

“No?” Bobby played with her fingers, avoiding his glance. Chansung’s eyes narrowed even further.

“Did you bring any food or water?”

“No?”

Chansung sighed frustrated, rolling his eyes. He puffed his black hair away from his eyes and dug deep into his backpack, pulling out a bottle of water and a lunch box. He threw both at Bobby.

“Girls these days,” he scoffed when she fumbled with the bottle. The lunch box landed directed into her lap. “The mouth you’ve got there is not just or talking, you need to eat too.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Bobby grumbled after she took a few gulps of water and opened the lunch box. There were a few white bread sandwiches with tuna. And turkey. And there was lettuce and a few nicely cut tomatoes. This was definitely Yena’s doing. Bobby suddenly felt really hungry; she grabbed one sandwich and gobbled down almost half of it, still managing to keep on with the conversation. “Anddenevryonegoonadiet…”

Chansung chuckled.

Her puffed cheeks were half the size of her face, and those big eyes throwing daggers at him were rather adorable. After all, she was only 19 years old. For that one tiny second, he felt jealous of her. It was a fleeting feeling that he didn’t linger upon, and it was nothing close to self-pity or anything. It was a simple, natural, and healthy type of jealousy. Even so, he made himself go back to what they were talking about.

“This is just a personal preference,” he gave her an investigating eye. “But being nice to touch wins over being nice to look at.”

Bobby almost chocked on her sandwich. She worked hard on swallowing the lump inside her throat.

“You perverted oppa,” she mumbled, giving him a judging stare.

“I’m just being reasonable,” Chansung shrugged. Bobby gobbled down the rest of the sandwich.

“Yeah, right… so, anyways, what’s next,” she wondered whether she should eat the other sandwich or not. Oh, and those tomatoes looked so alluring. “Are you going to teach me how to escape a vampire attack or something?”

“You can’t really escape it,” Chansung pointed out matter-of-factly. “Once you’re cornered, that’s it.”

“So…” Bobby blinked. “So, what’s the point of this training? What’s with all the stretching and… stuff,” she pouted.

“We have to work on building your strength,” Chansung declared.

“Huh?” Bobby angled her head unable to follow. Chansung nodded and raised his right hand.

“Alright, we need to get through this,” the tone of his voice changed and Bobby sat up straight because she could tell this old vampire has just entered the teacher mode. “There are three certain ways to kill a vampire. One,” he bent his thumb. “Slice their head off. Two,” he bent his forefinger. “Stake their heart with a sharp wooden object. And three,” the middle finger went down. “Set them on fire. But this option is hard because they’ve gotta burn until there’s nothing, but ashes left. So, it’s a little bit troublesome.”

“All the options are kinda eww anyways,” Bobby pointed out, her face crumpled with disgust.

“Well, life itself is sometimes really eww, what can you do,” Chansung smirked. “So, now. When you get attacked by a vampire, the biggest mistake you can make is…?” his voice rose a few tones up, and Bobby realized it was a question. She quickly ran over everything he had said before in her head.

“Uhh… run away?”

“Correct,” he nodded satisfied. “Because it’s futile, you can never outrun a vampire. Nor can you defeat them in a battle. Humans seldom are strong enough. The only thing you can do is use the moment of surprise. Be unpredictable.”

“Then what was that all about working on my strength?” Bobby asked confused.

“Good question,” Chansung nodded and pulled out a big silver dagger from his backpack that looked more like a silver sword. Like a Japanese samurai sword. Its handle was almost longer than the blade, making the total length more than 10 inches. There was actually nothing special about the dagger. No encrusted gems or anything. Just simple shiny silver, with a handle wrapped in tight leather strings, making it comfortable to grab a firm hold of it.

“We’ve modelled this after the Japanese wakizashi. Of course, this one’s a lot smaller, but very convenient,” Chansung eyed the weapon with admiration.

“Am… am I supposed to cut vampire’s head off with that?” Bobby hiccoughed. Chansung couldn’t help, but laugh.

“No, you don’t,” he chuckled. “It’s too small for that, but,” he pressed the handle firmer in one exact spot, and a sharp wooden skewer popped up from the other end of it. Now it made sense why the handle was so long – with the wooden part out, the weapon grew almost double in length. “Silver is for distraction,” he pointed at the blade. “Wood is for the final blow,” he pointed at the skewer.

“That’s still gross…” Bobby pursed her lips, although she couldn’t deny the weapon looked fascinating.

“Well, it’s either you or the vampire,” Chansung shrugged. “You have to slow them down with the silver dagger, because wounds inflicted by silver weapons are more painful and they take longer to heal. So, while the vampire is distracted by the wound, you take your chance and,” he swung around imitating a sharp stab with the wooden part of the weapon.

“Where’s the strength come in again?”

“Alright,” Chansung sighed and put his left hand onto the floor. He gave her an eye. “Don’t scream.”

“Huh?” Bobby merely gaped when he swung his right hand back clutching the dagger with its wooden part down, and then CRACK, the next thing she knew the wooden stake was in Chansung’s left hand, stabbing right through it.

“Ah--!” Chansung’s face screwed up in pain.

“JESUS CHRIST WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!!” Bobby squeaked at the top of her lungs.

“Told you not to scream,” Chansung glared at her, ignoring all the blood gushing out his wound.

“But there’s wood in you!” she pointed at the hand.

“What did I tell you about killing a vampire with a wooden pole?” he asked patiently.

“Need to stake it through the heart?” she mumbled. Chansung raised his hand with the wood sticking through it.

“Does this look like a heart to you?” he cocked an eyebrow. Bobby shivered.

“Eww, no,” she looked away.

Chansung snatched the handle and pulled the weapon out of his wounded hand. It popped out with a nasty sound.

“Crap,” he cursed under his breath. He could feel the wound beginning to close already, now that the wood was gone. “So. To kill a vampire with a wooden stick, you have to go for the heart and for the heart only. And it has to be real wood. Oak’s the best… or the worst, depends on how you look at it,” he chuckled quietly to himself. “Now, what did you observe from all this?”

“Are you sure you’re ok?” Bobby looked very concerned.

“I’m fine,” Chansung shrugged it off. “Your thoughts?”

“Umm…” Bobby bit her lip as she thought. “You kinda… swung hard when you stuck that thing into your hand.”

“Now why did I do that?” Chansung angled his head. Despite the fact that she seemed to be aloof most of the time, he liked that the girl had a good eye and noticed the essence of things.

“To get… through it?” she guessed.

“Right,” he nodded. “Why?”

“Because there are… bones… and stuff.”

“Correct,” Chansung nodded. “Now, what about the heart?”

“It’s…” Bobby’s shoulders sagged as she realized the truth. “It’s surrounded by the ribcage… and there’s… breastbone…”

“Bingo,” Chansung snapped his fingers. “What you have to realize is that vampires are made of flesh and bones. Just because we are allergic to wood, it doesn’t mean a sharp wooden object plunges right into vampire’s body without any effort whatsoever. Wooden stake isn’t a hot knife, and vampire isn’t butter. That’s why you have to use the silver dagger for distraction, and THAT’S why you have to aim for the heart, if there’s no one around to help you. That’s your only chance. The element of surprise.”

“That’s really hard,” Bobby sighed and finally grabbed the second sandwich. The image of Chansung’s blood on concrete floor didn’t gross her out enough to forgo food.

“But it’s really powerful,” he pressed the handle again, and the wooden skewer hid inside it. Chansung put the dagger away. “Vampire hunters have been using that for centuries. And quite successfully.”

“Vampire hunters?” Bobby’s eyes widened in astonishment. “They exist?!”

“Of course,” Chan shrugged smiling. “There’s a hunter for any predator out there.”

“Are… they really dangerous?” she suddenly felt she didn’t have a right to eat.

“It depends,” Chansung leaned back, propping his elbows against the floor, the t-shirt tightening across his chest.

“They are a lot more organized these days, and there are like… three basic types of vampire hunters. There are crazy fanatics, who hunt after anyone because they believe they’re on a sacred mission to rid the Earth off the nocturnals. They’re the minority and they’re not that dangerous.

“The others are very well-organised so-called “official” hunters, who usually track down the vampires who cross the line. Actually, our authorities do swap information with those hunters because they’re… sane, so to speak. It’s almost like they perform selective culling. Those guys are ok. And then there are those who make a living out of it,” Chansung’s face clouded and a crease formed in between his eyebrows.

“These are scum. And they are usually hired by other vampires… For example, if someone holds a grudge against you and doesn’t want to go through an official duel, they hire the hunters to take care of the issue. Scum,” he hissed through his clenched teeth. “Both, such vampires and hunters,” Chansung shook his head and cast a glance at Bobby, who was now hanging upon his every word. “We have to be careful because of this third type. Especially as the weapons these days are so well-developed. If they catch you by surprise and render you unable to defend yourself… it’s pretty much over.”

“Render how?” Bobby listened with her chin resting on her palm, her elbow on her knee. The sandwich was long forgotten. “With silver bullets?”

“There are more effective ways,” Chansung shook his head. “Like quicksilver shots. Quicksilver isn’t lethal, but it causes acute infection that basically renders you unable to do anything but lie and writher in pain. It sucks,” he frowned as if reminiscing. “That’s why we always have to be careful. It might seem like we’re at the top of the food chain here, but I’ve been watching my back ever since I was turned.”

Bobby looked down, thinking it must be hard to live like that forever without peace. Not really knowing where you’re going or where you’ve come from… speaking of which.

“Do you know why you’re here?” she asked suddenly.

“I’m here to teach how to defend yourself in times of trouble,” he answered genuinely.

Bobby almost crashed to the floor.

“No… I mean, why the vampires are here. Like… where have you come from, what or when was the start, the genesis and all that jazz.”

Chansung gave her a long stare and then looked up at the warehouse ceiling. His hand was almost healed.

“No one knows,” he said after a while. “There are only guesses and myths.”

“Myths?” Bobby raised her eyebrows surprised.

“Everyone has myths. Even vampires,” Chansung smiled. “One thing for sure though, humans have definitely come first.”

“What do the myths say?” Bobby asked curiously.

“All sorts of things,” Chansung was thoughtful. “Some say it was an animal bite. Some say it was a disease.”

“Do you believe that?” Bobby whispered. Chansung looked at her.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “If you asked Yena, she would say it was some mutation that was passed on through saliva, and it caused a vampire evolution.”

“Then there must’ve been quite a few people with this mutation, seeing how there are vampires all over the world,” Bobby reasoned.

“That’s plausible,” Chansung figured. “But then again, there are those who think we’re just ill and we need a cure.”

“Would you like that?” Bobby asked tentatively. “If there was a cure… would you like to become human again?”

Chansung looked away, his face absolutely calm. Dark hair fell on his ears and forehead, his profile sharp and pointy. There was something ancient about it. Eventually, he breathed in to make a sound.

“I do not know.”

 

 

\---------------------------------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I deleted and rewrote a good chunk of this chapter, so it might feel a little bit blotchy.  
> It's just that I didn't feel comfortable with how I had written certain characters back in the day, even though I do leave most of their flaws intact.  
> Also, I got rid of some plot-lines that (eventually) didn't go anywhere, and I had just put them in there on a whim.
> 
> (constructive planning who? i don't know her)
> 
> Thank you so much for coming back to this story! I will definitely keep it going.


	11. #11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🔷 Wooyoung has a problem. Junho to the rescue.  
> 🔷 Khun has a problem. Wooyoung to the rescue.

_Edinburgh, present day_

 

It was some time past 3 am in the morning and one would’ve expected the place to be calm and empty, but in human world, there were particular hot spots that never slept.

Junho looked around the ER entrance shot in bright lights. He could see people waiting inside. There were quite a few nurses at the reception, and from time to time, an ambulance would drive in, blaring the sirens at the loudest. Then the medical staff would swarm around the car and take the patient inside.

Whenever that happened, Junho stepped back from the entrance into the shadows, even though it was hard to find a dark corner in this place: the hospital boasted of a modern design and absolutely white façade. As far as Junho was concerned, this massive construction reminded him of a factory rather than a hospital. He never liked hospitals. Hated them, to be exact, so he really despised standing there at the entrance for more than half an hour, waiting for someone who had managed to pull him out of the confines of the house in the Old Town, even though Junho knew quite well that he was supposed to stay put. He thought he was going to be in serious trouble for disobeying, but at the same time, he couldn’t let his friend down.

Putting his hands into his leather jacket’s pockets, Junho suddenly wondered since when that guy has become his best friend. Not like it was their choice, more like… they were forced to become close and, Junho figured, they were simply lucky their personalities matched despite an occasional scuffle here and there; but that happened even to the best of friends.

And he never really questioned his decision to keep on going without an imprint… except today. Because Junho got so used to feeling the others at the back of his head that now the inability to sense this little schmuck bothered him to the point he wanted to add this 5th string to his brain himself. Junho didn’t know exactly how it worked, but he associated his imprint senses with musical strings inside his head.

He liked the way these senses reverberated throughout his body whenever one of the strings was struck. Every single one of them felt different: one stronger, another one weaker, one higher, and another lower. The strongest strings in his head, resounding the loudest whenever they were struck, were Chansung and Nichkhun. Chansung felt like a warm and firm cello note, while Khun was more like a slightly anxious but head-strong viola. Minjun was a distant gayageum and Taec was another distinct viola string, although weaker and lower than Khun.

Junho could also tell there was something more to it. As if there were individuals with traces of a common imprint even though he couldn’t feel them. He figured he was either too inexperienced or the connection too weak to sense it, but the sensation of something or someone else, of something big was always at the back of his head. Had he been human, Junho was sure the feeling would’ve made him absolutely paranoid. It was close to the sensation one got when they were being watched by someone from afar.

He zipped his jacket up to his chin as a nurse walked by giving him a funny eye. It was probably because he stood in the middle of a winter night with nothing but trainers, jeans, and a light jacket on. She didn’t need to know he wore only a black tank-top underneath that jacket.

Feeling the warm glow of cello in his head for the very last time, Junho tried to push these senses away because sometimes the imprints felt a bit too overwhelming. Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing that Wooyoung didn’t have one yet. If he had one, there would’ve been an entire orchestra in Junho’s head, and he wasn’t sure he could handle it well. Speaking of the devil…

Junho looked left when the door to the ER opened, expecting to see another nurse or a doctor walking out, but it was none the other than Jang Wooyoung. He strode confidently, step after step in his trainers, joggers, and white hoodie, totally unperturbed by the fact that he looked absolutely misplaced in this facility.

Junho blinked surprised when Wooyoung noticed him standing, eyeing him from behind the curtain of his thick hair. He was about to ask what on earth the youngest of the coven had been doing at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, but Wooyoung merely walked past him with a simple “Let’s go.”

Junho was left standing as Wooyoung shuffled away from the hospital driveway and headed down the road. He planned on making a cut through the road winding down next to the golf club so he could get to the nearest operating night bus stop. Junho, however, was not up for an excursion around Little France, so he ran after his twin, confusion filling his head.

“I hope you do realize that I’m grounded. Khun’s gonna kill me if he finds out I’m gone,” he caught up with Wooyoung when the lights of the hospital faded out behind them and they entered another road.

“You can blame everything on me,” Wooyoung answered in a dead voice. “He’d love that.”

Junho blinked and reached out, gripping Wooyoung’s shoulder and stopping him in his step. He walked around him and tried looking Wooyoung directly in the eye, but the Busan boy was obviously avoiding direct eye contact. Junho suddenly realized he was in no position to allow himself to feel scorned.

“What happened?” he asked in a calm and low voice. Wooyoung looked away and swallowed slowly, half of his face hidden behind his hair. “Hey?” Junho put both of his hands on Wooyoung’s shoulders, making him look directly at him. Wooyoung bit his lip.

“I need help,” he said. Junho frowned slightly.

“What kind of help?” he asked, and Wooyoung freed himself from Junho’s grip to pull out two small test-tubes from his hoodie’s pocket.

Junho stared at the two pieces of glassware, both full of dark red liquid. The area was not that well illuminated now that they were further from the hospital, but Junho didn’t need light to know what was inside those test-tubes.

“What is this?” he blinked as Wooyoung put both tubes into his big hand.

“Can you please analyse… the reaction…?” Wooyoung mumbled.

“To what?” Junho was no expert, but even he could tell the difference. One tube contained human, the other – vampire blood.

“To each other,” Wooyoung said and moved on with his hands in his hoodie’s pockets, walking slightly hunched.

Junho blinked slowly and took a closer look at the test-tubes. He had been working with one particular sample for so long he could almost tell it immediately.

“Is this yours?” he hurried after Wooyoung, pushing the tubes carefully into his jacket’s inner pocket.

“Mm,” Wooyoung huffed a weird sound, slowly pacing down the road.

It was eerily quiet in the neighbourhood, and Junho wanted to get out of here as soon as possible, but whenever he wanted to move around in vampire speed, he had to constantly remind himself of the possibility that the area might be monitored by security cameras.

“And the other one?” they both levelled up and were walking side by side now. Wooyoung looked hesitant. “If you want me to help you, I need to know what I’m getting myself into,” Junho sounded serious, but he didn’t stop walking.

“It’s Yena’s…” Wooyoung looked down, hiding behind his hair. Junho thought he heard wrong.

“Yena’s?” he gasped. “Why… Where did you get her blood?”

Wooyoung glanced back at where they’ve come from and then continued walking forward. They were almost past the golf club. Junho couldn’t believe this.

“You… you robbed the hospital?!” his eyes widened almost twice their size. Wooyoung clicked his tongue hunching even more and hastening his pace.

“Did not,” he grumbled. “Just… I left plenty anyways.”

“Why would you need to check your blood’s reaction to Yena’s blood?” Junho couldn’t get it as they emerged into the Gilmerton Road and headed towards the bus stop. “You should ask her about it if it’s so important. You know I can’t do much, and she’s an expert.”

“No,” Wooyoung cut off firmly. “Don’t tell anyone about this.” Junho gave him a suspicious eye. “Please?” Wooyoung pulled off something that (he hoped) looked like a cute begging puppy expression, but to Junho it reminded an overgrown frog face. Especially those cheeks. They weren’t cute. They were full of poison. He was sure of it.

“What happened?” Junho sounded worried. Wooyoung looked very reluctant to talk and his twin felt somewhat hurt. “Fine,” he sighed. “I’ll understand if you don’t trust me, but… I can’t do that much… I can just run basic tests and that’s all…”

“That should be enough,” Wooyoung moved closer and slung his arm around Junho’s shoulders, pressing at his left deltoid slightly with his lean fingers. “And it’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that… I don’t want others to know…”

Junho snorted as they finally arrived at the bus stop to see that there were two elderly ladies waiting for the night bus service. They eyed the two boys dressed way too light for a chilly January night, and the boys bowed immediately out of pure habit, before going back to their own conversation. Junho suddenly wondered whether it was polite to continue talking in Korean when the two ladies were right next to them, but then again, it was better if they didn’t understand the contents of their discourse.

“For your information,” Junho stood next to the bus stop post, giving Wooyoung a slightly judging eye. “The imprint does not extend to mind reading, so you can be at ease.”

“I wasn’t really…” Wooyoung shook his head and then looked up to see the night shuttle bus coming closer. The N3 night service was right on schedule. The two ladies walked around them to wait for the bus to stop, while Junho looked up at the cloudy sky, considering his possibilities.

“Forget it,” he said after little consideration. “I’ll do it, but seriously, all I can do is run the most basic tests because nuna doesn’t really have a list of core methods. She usually goes by the hunch and I just need to learn on the spot.”

“Thanks,” Wooyoung sighed looking relieved. It seemed as if a rock rolled off his chest and Junho figured it must’ve been something big. Wooyoung was a bit of a worrywart, but not as much as to display his worry out in the open like this. The bus was coming closer.

“But you should really consider telling everything to Yena,” Junho insisted. “No matter how grave the problem might be… I bet she would understand. Plus, she’s crazy about blood research, did you know she could tell our blood apart just by looking at it?”

“Yeah,” Wooyoung nodded watching the bus approach. “She was sure there was something wrong with yours the other day. Did she manage to find anything?”

“Oh right,” Junho pouted, angling his head to the left. “She was very thorough with my sample last Wednesday, but she couldn’t find anything. She seemed really confused though…”

“Figures,” Wooyoung shrugged as the bus stopped right in front of him with a soft jolt and the door opened. He let the ladies get in first and then got inside himself, mumbling under his nose: “Your blood composition would’ve changed only if you’d got laid anyways.”

Despite the fact that Wooyoung was talking to no one in particular and that the bus engine was rumbling quite loud, Junho heard that. He blinked once, feeling his brain cover in a thin layer of ice, as small needles stuck along his hairline all over his forehead. He was so taken aback that he almost forgot he was supposed to get in the bus as well. After a second of bewilderment, Junho shook his head and got aboard right when the door was about to close in front of him.

Looking around he saw that Wooyoung had gone all the way down to the back of the bus and flopped onto the seat next to the window, looking almost like a kid from a classic hip-hop music video or something. Feeling slightly out of the ordinary, Junho walked down the aisle and sat next to Wooyoung, careful not to crush the test-tubes in his jacket’s inner pocket.

“What do you mean by blood composition change and getting laid?” awkward was not the word to describe his current state of mind – he felt a lot worse talking about it to Wooyoung, but at least the ladies way up front couldn’t understand them (nor hear them, to be exact). Wooyoung glanced left at him with a blank expression on his face.

“What, you don’t know?” he frowned slightly. Junho suddenly felt like he had overslept an important class or something. Like everyone knew something crucial except him.

“Know what?” he asked trying to look calm and disinterested. Wooyoung sighed lifting his right leg higher and then tucking his right foot under his left thigh.

“When you feed on another vampire, your blood composition changes,” he said matter-of-factly. Junho frowned.

“What does that have anything to do with getting laid?”

“You usually feed on another vampire during sex,” Wooyoung was staring at his knee.

“But I fed on Chansung!” Junho pointed out, not quite sure where they were getting to.

Wooyoung stopped playing with his fingers inside his hoodie’s pocket and pulled his hands out, now absent-mindedly pulling at his cuffs. It felt weird. Junho was the over-acting type, but he seldom was so jittery. Logic was supposed to be his strongest card, but now Wooyoung could see that his twin was very far from employing his best trait – Junho could not think straight. Wooyoung narrowed his eyes.

“You fed on Chansung because

  1. you were too inexperienced to know better;
  2. you were too hungry to know better, and
  3. hyung totally tricked you into getting an imprint,” the Busan vampire blurted out.



“Oh, come on!” Junho rolled his eyes. Wooyoung shrugged.

“What I mean to say is that when you get the imprint, it has nothing to do with all the other feeds. And as far as I understood from what Taec told me, later on, vampires with the same imprint can feed on each other in some cases, and that doesn’t change their blood composition because they share the common imprint…” he trailed away. And then added. “And he also told me that vampire sex and feeding go together because you just can’t help but bite,” he shrugged again. Junho mulled over everything as the bus approached another stop and they halted for a few seconds.

“Is it bad?” he asked. “I mean, that the blood composition changes.”

“I honestly have no idea,” Wooyoung deadpanned and for a second Junho wanted to choke him. “But in my personal opinion, it’s just a natural growth. I suppose for a vampire, our blood collects data throughout our existence just like… say, skin for a human,” he raised his right hand to his eye level, staring at his palm. “We… They collect scratches and burns over the years that turn into scars and then wrinkles, and of course, you’d love to go on without the traces of time on you, but the question is…” he flexed his hand. “Would that then really be you?”

“Oh…” Junho looked down at his lap, not quite sure what to say or if he was even supposed to say anything in the first place. He had many questions plaguing his mind, and he realized that apart from running the tests for the samples in those two tubes hiding inside his jacket, he would also have to check his own blood. That moment he wished he knew a lot more about chemistry, biology, medicine, and what have you. He then knew his greed would have no end to it.

Wooyoung, on the other, stopped admiring his slender fingers and glanced left at Junho, focusing so hard on his face that after a while he could see nothing but the other guy’s nose. If someone looked at the scene from afar, one would’ve thought Jang Wooyoung was transfixed. But he was merely thinking with his eyes fixed right on Junho’s face. He wondered whether he should ask or not.

“Why were you grounded exactly?” he asked eventually, not bothering with polite preludes. Junho looked up to meet Wooyoung’s dark eyes staring right back at him. Junho blinked.

“That’s cuz I stayed out all day without a single word where I was,” he said. Wooyoung didn’t look convinced.

“That’s it?!” his voice cracked as he squeaked unexpectedly. The ladies and a few other people, who had got on the bus in the last few stops, looked back at them suspiciously. Wooyoung nodded in apology to no one in particular. “That’s really it?” he asked in sotto voce leaning closer.

“Well, and…” Junho huffed. “Khun said I made Chansung worry, and that I’m immature and careless and I make Chansung suffer so I just told Khun to get married to Chansung already… for which he almost grounded me for a year…” he sighed. Wooyoung burst into a fit of silent giggles, snatching at his stomach as the laughter sent his muscles into spasms.

“I bet they really would if they could,” he snickered having fun, imagining Khun in a flowing wedding dress. He also found that image somewhat disturbing, but it was too much of a treat to just cut that thought off.

“I know right?” Junho giggled, his eyes shrinking into two adorable crescents. He was having a kick out of watching Wooyoung enjoy himself. Wooyoung really was a very witty guy. He should’ve laughed more. Junho was glad to see him enjoying himself, but right when their eyes met Wooyoung’s face moulded into an expressionless mask and he asked without any ceremony:

“What were you really doing in Liberton the other day?”

Junho froze. He clenched his jaw.

“Why do you want me to check Yena’s blood reaction to yours?” he threw it right back at him. Wooyoung stared. And then he collapsed into his seat, nodding down and folding his arms across his chest.

“Fair enough,” he mumbled.

Junho also propped against his seat and focused his gaze directly up front, staring at the asphalt outside the bus front window. He really had other things to say, stuff to ask, but at the same time, he realized there was no way he could get something out of Wooyoung, if he decided to keep his mouth shut. Rather than attempting something futile, he began thinking of what he should do once he’s back home… Junho blinked. Since when did he start considering that old house “home?”

“The other day…” Wooyoung spoke and Junho was pulled out of his reverie. “I tasted Yena’s blood, and… it was too good to be true…” he looked up at his friend. “I want to know why.”

Junho thought he heard wrong.

“Come again?” he gasped taken aback.

“Accidentally,” Wooyoung shook his head. “I didn’t do it on purpose, she got a cut and…” he shivered at the memory. “I know the anaemic blood is supposed to be bitter, but… I don’t get it… it’s not like I haven’t tasted human blood before, but that was…” Wooyoung pulled his legs close to his chest, putting his chin onto his knees. “I swear if I hadn’t fed a few hours before that, I would’ve drained her dry… I have no idea how I managed to get out of the kitchen…”

Junho watched as Wooyoung slowly drawled word after word, and the more he said the more distinct his dialect grew. He latched onto something familiar while talking about things that disturbed him to the core. Even though Wooyoung wasn’t shaking, Junho could see that he was terribly tense, and from the way he was bracing his legs, Junho could tell Wooyoung was scared. He was really terrified of this lack of control, especially as it concerned the person they knew and were generally fond of.

Junho had to admit he would catch himself envying Wooyoung from time to time, for being a natural and for having such a great power of will as to continue feeding only on animal blood. But now, Junho realized he had no reason to be jealous of Wooyoung. There was a price to pay for every single supernatural ability, and Jang Wooyoung had his own demons to fight, his own skeletons to hide. And Junho definitely owed him one.

“That other day…” he began. “In Liberton,” Wooyoung looked up as Junho stared down at his hands. “I was hunting, but… I got distracted and the prey got away… and… it really ticked me off, and before I knew it…” he made a pause although he didn’t sigh here, he was getting highly accustomed to his new nature. “I guess you could say I did get something in return, but… Accidentally, I didn’t do it on purpose… really,” he looked up right at his peer, to see Wooyoung stare at him, wearing that trademark blank face expression. “It’s just like you’ve said, you can’t help it, you just bite and that’s it, it almost feels like the second nature,” he looked back at his hands. “Plus, I was really hungry,” he mumbled.

From all this Wooyoung could tell a few things:

  1. Junho got lucky;
  2. Junho got very veeeeeery lucky;
  3. vampire attraction was no joke, and he should be careful not to get intoxicated himself; and
  4. Junho either got a very small amount of that other vampire’s blood or there was something wrong with the chemical reaction because Yena was supposed to find the new data present in Junho’s sample.



He really found it confusing because according to Taec, it didn’t take too much to get your blood data complemented. As many as three or four full gulps should’ve been quite enough for that.

“Was she hot?” he asked out of the blue.

“HUH?!” Junho’s voice cracked as he gasped at the top of his lungs, disturbing the people sitting the closest to them. He apologized immediately and turned to Wooyoung at once. “Wow, that assumption!” he pouted. “Yes, she was HOT. And Korean!” he hissed.

Wooyoung frowned. He couldn’t tell exactly why, but his spider senses found that suspicious. Korean vampires didn’t show up just like that in this area. Yet he decided to keep that idea to himself because he knew he was the resident paranoiac in their group.

The bus approached another stop, and Junho got up from his seat, trimming his jacket’s lapels. Wooyoung blinked looking up at him.

“I’ll be getting off here,” he said smiling at the mute question.

“Here?” Wooyoung frowned confused and looked out of the window. He wasn’t too familiar with the entire city, but he was pretty sure they were still somewhere in Liberton. It suddenly hit him and he looked back at Junho smirking like the sly fox he was. “The culprit always comes back to the scene of the crime,” he said. “What about your house arrest?”

Junho chuckled.

“Guilty,” he raised his hand. “I suppose I should use the time to the fullest if I’ve stepped over the line already,” he tapped lightly over the right side of his jacket. “I’ll see to it,” he promised as the bus lurched into a stop.

“Thank you,” Wooyoung nodded, feeling overwhelmingly grateful.

“Later.”

“Later,” and Junho hurried out of the bus and jogged into the darkness of a very early winter morning. Wooyoung didn’t need to know Junho’d felt being watched for some time already.

 

 

 

Wooyoung’s eyes followed Junho’s silhouette until he disappeared, until he couldn’t see him anymore when the bus moved on and eventually made a turn into another road. With the initial weight off his shoulders Wooyoung wasn’t sure what he wanted to do next. He could always go and practice in one of the warehouses, but sometimes he would catch himself thinking there was no use in practicing anymore, because

  1. he could make his body do almost anything he wished, and
  2. he practice was basically futile if he had no audience to demonstrate his skills to.



Unless the vampire community had annual dance battle rallies. Although he seriously doubted that.

Sitting in the half-empty bus as it slowly moved on through wintry neighbourhoods, he eventually decided to go up to Waverley Steps and then get out and just wander around the city until the sunrise. He still had a few hours left because mornings in winter came late.

The state he was in was probably supposed to be called autopilot, because he knew when he got out of the bus and he knew the streets he walked, but he didn’t know exactly where he was going. It was like his legs had a mind of their own and they were carrying him around. Wooyoung stopped only when he realized he was standing in front of the Balmoral Hotel at the very edge of Newtown.

Standing on cold and even tiles in a small square in front of the hotel, Wooyoung looked up to size up the more than a hundred-year-old building. He could bet it was a luxurious five-star hotel, what with the grand exterior and multiple floors he didn’t even try to count because it was easy to lose the number due to the extremely intricate architecture.

Stuffing his hands into his hoodie’s pockets, he looked around, surprised to see a few people sitting on the benches around the square. Not that it was the time of the day he found unsuitable for public gatherings: being a Korean, he was used to seeing people awake 24/7. And the weather was rather nice. For a vampire.

Wooyoung couldn’t feel it, but he could tell it was cold. Especially as there were no clouds in the sky anymore. His human experience told him that cloudless nights were supposed to be very cold in winter. So, he questioned the sanity of the people on the benches, but who he was to interfere with their plans. It was a free democratic country and everyone was entitled to their own way of spending their free time (or dying).

Speaking of death, Wooyoung was still checking the details of the hotel architecture, when he suddenly felt the atmosphere closing in on him. It was a very strange feeling. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but it was as if the air itself tensed, and his senses spiked up to the fullest.

If he were a human, he was sure he would’ve got shivers running up and down his spine, but now it only seemed there was a wide band on the surrounding, like a radar in his head, and then suddenly this band, this radar beep shrunk to a very small space around him, electrifying him and putting him on edge. Whatever it meant, Wooyoung was sure about one thing: he wasn’t alone anymore.

Fighting the urge to clench his hands into fists, he calmly pulled them out of his pockets and lowered them down to his thighs. He then looked around.

Wooyoung was slightly disturbed to see he was the only person left in the square in front of the hotel. In just a matter of half a minute or so, the people sitting on the benches had disappeared. It eerily reminded him of how the animals could feel danger and imminent threat sooner than humans. Maybe, in the case of a higher predator, humans would also flee first, even if they couldn’t understand the cause of their fears. Wooyoung, on the other hand, now knew exactly the reason for the sudden change in the atmosphere because he was looking right at him.

There was a man walking straight towards him from the street side of the square. He wore nothing but black leather shoes, jeans, and a black sweater, yet he carried himself with such an imposing inner grace, one would’ve thought there was a purple royal gown on his shoulders.

He was around Wooyoung’s height and looked around thirty-five years of human age, but Wooyoung could already tell that he was much, much older than that. Every single fibre in his body was screeching that he was not to make any sudden moves because, natural or not, he had no chance against hundreds… perhaps even a thousand years of experience.

In a sense, he felt lucky his usual face expression was somewhat blank and never gave away his feelings. So, he just stood there watching the man approach, telling himself to relax because in the worst-case scenario, he could always take it off to the sky. Screw the surveillance cameras.

Surprisingly enough, his body did relax and Wooyoung focused his entire attention on the man.

He had a high nose and very thin lips. His blonde hair was cut short and he wore them sleeked back. For some reason, it made Wooyoung think of a snake. Perhaps he had consumed too much Harry Potter content in his middle school days. Whichever it was, he could tell the man’s blonde hair was natural (unlike someone’s he knew), and his eyes were so light grey they looked almost silvery in the artificial streetlamp light. Wooyoung found that rather creepy. It almost seemed like the stranger’s eyes were made of glass.

A light breeze danced around Wooyoung legs, and he allowed himself to take a short intake of air. He could finally smell him. It was the usual vampire scent, and Wooyoung wondered why he didn’t smell him sooner. Most of the time, the sense of smell came first, but in this case, he had been alerted by this weird sixth sense extravaganza.

When the man was about two metres away from Wooyoung, he stopped and gave the kid a closer look.

Wooyoung was not sure whether he was supposed to play the bad insolent teen part, or if he was supposed to be the obedient one. He didn’t know what to expect of this man, so he just stood there absolutely blank. He stopped taking sniffs of air because he didn’t like the way that man smelled. The man eyed him up and down.

“Interesting,” he said in a voice drenched with a very thick British English accent.

Had Wooyoung been a linguist, he could’ve pinpointed the exact region the man was from, though perhaps, not the exact century. Right now, however, Wooyoung wondered what was so interesting. He could hear the vampire take in a very deep breath of air. He was clearly going through Wooyoung’s scent, and Wooyoung suddenly wished he could curl into a ball and roll away into a safe and dark corner like an armadillo. The man simply smiled looking slightly surprised and added: “Fascinating.”

Wooyoung didn’t want to be fascinating. At least not to this freaky stranger. Still wearing his perpetual blank face, he seriously considered bolting out of there, when that elastic band in his head pinged again, and he couldn't help but sniff around because the level of alert was at the highest. He almost groaned when a familiar scent reached his nostrils, but he simply glanced calmly to the right, to see another blonde emerge from behind the entrance to the Princes Mall.

Wow, just how cliché was that.

Khun stopped in his tracks noticing the uninvited guest in what was supposed to be a private meeting. He then stepped up and walked closer to the two, looking chic as usual, in his trade-mark black suit. Giving Wooyoung a fleeting disinterested glance, he focused on the other man. That wasn’t anything unusual, but Wooyoung decided to remain silent for a time being.

“Greetings, Hector,” Khun saluted the stranger with a very slight bow. “I see you are corrupting children even on your spare time.”

The vampire called Hector smirked. His white teeth glinted in the artificial lamplight.

“My dear brother, I would never dare to lay my hand on any of your lot,” he pledged. Wooyoung was too immersed into this to even blink, but he saw Khun narrow his eyes slightly as he was obviously displeased.

“Don’t. Call me that,” the Thai hissed. “And he is not ours,” he glanced sideways at Wooyoung. “I am not supposed to know every single Asian vampire around here.”

Wooyoung wasn’t surprised that Khun was practically disowning him, but he wondered where he was getting to. The local vampire seemed a little bit surprised.

“Is that so?” he cocked one eyebrow. Khun glared at Wooyoung eyeing him up and down.

“Would I ever allow anyone in my family to walk around wearing this trash?”

Wooyoung fought the urge to frown. He liked his joggers and his hoodie, he felt comfortable in them. But at the same time, he knew it was not the time to be openly indignant about it.

“Fair enough,” that wry smirk seemed to be stuck on Hector’s face like a joker grin. “What do you want me to do with him, then?”

“I don’t care,” Khun shrugged. “One Korean more or less, not my problem.”

“How do you know he is Korean?” Hector gave him a very sweet yet venomous smile. Khun looked like he fought the urge to roll his eyes.

“I’ve been with them long enough to tell exactly when I see one,” Khun deadpanned and it was an argument hard to refute.

Wooyoung’s mind went absolutely blank when the old vampire focused his attention entirely on him.

“Well then,” he said. “If that’s the case you can be our witness. What is your name, youngling?”

“Huh?” Wooyoung uttered eloquently, because out of all the potential questions, he really didn’t expect to hear that one. Hector looked slightly irritated.

“Do you speak English?” he asked patiently. Wooyoung raised his eyebrows and they entirely disappeared behind his long fringe. Maybe it was really better to pretend a dumb tourist or something, but then Hector glanced at Khun. “Do you mind?”

Khun was fast to take over the queue.

 _“What are you doing here?”_  he asked calmly in Korean. Wooyoung glanced at him, quickly connecting the dots.

 _“You must be absolutely sure he doesn’t speak Korean,”_ the youngling uttered in a totally disinterested voice.

_“He doesn’t, but I expect you to behave. He seems to be fascinated with an idea of an eye-witness.”_

_“Do I sit down and feign absolute interest while you two kill each other off?”_

Khun narrowed his eyes.

 _“How amusing,”_  and he focused on Hector again. “He doesn’t speak English, but he’s willing to stay if you require that.”

“How interesting,” Hector smirked eyeing Wooyoung once again. “You know, this boy… he appears to be without an imprint…” he was so focused on Khun that he missed how Wooyoung blinked in surprise. “Doesn’t that ring a bell?”

Khun’s right eye twitched.

“I came here to ask you about the possibility to arrange a meeting with the master. I’m not here to talk about my distant past,” he declared.

“I am sorry to tell you this, even though I am not,” Hector scoffed. “But the protocol requires me to utilize such phrases… either way; Master does not wish to see you Nichikhun. You are a failure, and Master strongly dislikes failures. A piece of advice: If you wish to stay alive, don’t ever think of seeing him. He will not tolerate such insolence.”

“Then stop making attempts on my family!” Khun raised his voice slightly. In Khun’s standards, that was close to screaming.

“Or you what? You are in no position to make demands,” Hector declared, losing that silly grin from his face. “No one’s trying to hunt you lot on purpose. You just somehow manage to get in the way. Do everyone a favour, and just stay put.” He gave Khun a very stern look. “I hope this is the last time we meet,” and he obviously turned to leave, not forgetting to give Wooyoung one last fleeting glance. “I’ll be seeing you, youngling,” he grinned, and Wooyoung fought the urge to shiver. He managed to keep his blank face on, playing the I-speak-no-English part quite well.

Hector walked away in a dignified fashion, and Wooyoung watched the old vampire pull a phone out of his jeans pocket and text someone. He narrowed his eyes when Khun stepped closer to him, still observing the unfamiliar vampire, little by little disappearing in the depths of Princes Street. When he was sure there was no way Hector could hear or smell them, Wooyoung turned to Khun.

“Let me guess,” he eyed the Thai who looked guarded and mildly disappointed. “Relative issues?”

“My hyung maker-wise,” Khun grumbled, his eyes set on something far in the distance. He growled, and his upper lip curled up, exposing his fangs. “Arrogant bastard, too proud of his 100% English origins to notice he’s actually a freaking Viking.”

Wooyoung found it strange to hear Khun talk so much, especially to him. That must’ve meant the coven’s cash cow was too frustrated to differentiate whom he liked to talk to and not.

What Wooyoung found even stranger, however, was that this peculiar pinging at the back of his head didn’t disappear anywhere. It felt like there was still some presence lurking in the background. That was very weird. He was trying to shake off the feeling when he heard Khun mumble under his nose in English:

“Will have to think of some other way then…”

Wooyoung blinked, his face finally moulding into something distantly resembling an expression of surprise and disbelief.

“I know I have no say in this,” he began, slowly picking English words. “But you suicidal? Didn’t hear what that guy said? They will kill you if you do this again. And that Hector guy felt really dangerous. Your maker must be even worse.”

“Better me, than the others,” Khun said. Wooyoung stared. Their eyes met.

“You crazy,” the youngling declared. “And suicidal.”

“Look who’s talking,” Khun wanted to scoff, but he just kept on staring because his other senses were beginning to tingle in a very alarming fashion.

His eyes widened as Wooyoung’s narrowed, while they still kept on goggling at each other. Suddenly, Wooyoung was 100% sure no good could ever come out of that pinging in his head. That elastic atmospheric band was slowly closing in on him again.

“Is it just me or…” he wanted to turn around and check for whoever was giving away this nasty vibe, when Khun moved forward in a flash.

Before he knew it, the elder vampire stood right in front of him, his left hand on Wooyoung’s right shoulder and his face way too close to his left ear. Their cheeks were almost touching.

“Fly off,” Khun ordered, his voice low and demanding. “Right now.”

“Why?” Wooyoung asked, his eyes darting along the roof of the hotel in front of him. Whoever was after them, they weren’t vampires, which could mean only one thing…

“Hunters,” Khun confirmed. Taec’s lessons about the vampire world were coming right back at him.

“What kind?” Wooyoung asked, the tingling feeling at the back of his neck growing stronger. They were approaching.

“The worst,” Khun answered as his chocolate orbs roamed across the roofs and windows of the office buildings and shops from the other side of the street. Hunters always had only one chance to bring down a vampire, and that chance included an element of surprise. Wooyoung exhaled through his nose in a scornful fashion. He was getting a quick hang of the situation.

“This whole thing was a trap to get over with you,” he said, mentally counting the number of people he would have to deal with.

“Yeah well, tell me something I don’t know,” Khun narrowed his eyes, gripping a firmer hold of Wooyoung’s shoulder, ready to push him away. “Now get lost… Oh shit!”

Wooyoung didn’t know what was more surprising – the fact that Khun swore or that, instead of pushing him away, he pulled Wooyoung close and, his right hand gripping a tight hold of the youngling’s body, Khun lifted him up and turned him around, switching their positions fast, now Khun facing the hotel and Wooyoung – the street.

The youngling was gripping Khun’s forearm when he heard and then saw it coming. It all happened in a matter of milliseconds, but to Wooyoung, it seemed like a painstakingly tardy slow-motion.

It looked like a sedative shot that scientists use to sedate wild animals when they carry out their research, but Wooyoung knew better than that. To his mind, it was something much worse than the sedative. His back was in the needle’s path just a moment ago. Now, there was Khun standing, and the needle with a small tube carrying a sickly silvery liquid plunged hard into Khun’s back with a hollow “tok.”

“Ah, crap,” Khun frowned, letting go of Wooyoung. He tried very hard to stay on his feet, but it was obvious he was in a great pain. “Told you to fly off, you moron.”

Time seemed to be crawling at snail’s pace.

Khun succumbed to his knees, and Wooyoung felt another shot coming straight at him, but it’s alright, he told himself, avoiding the needle, hearing it fall on the tiles with a muted “zing.”

It’s alright, he thought. If that imprint shazam was to be believed as the absolute truth, Taecyeon was supposed to feel something terribly wrong already. Chansung and Junho should be alerted as well, and they would be here in no time. It’s alright, he said avoiding another shot, only to be hit from behind into his right shoulder.

He gritted his teeth, thinking there must’ve been another sniper on the roof behind him. Wooyoung pulled the needle with the narrow tube out only to see it was empty already. Then, almost the very same instance, he felt icy chill spread from his shoulder to the other parts of his body. It was like the infection was using his blood vessels and his blood to multiply.

Wooyoung coughed, he felt like he had been hit by a very heavy bag of rice. Scratch that, he felt like a bag of rice himself. It was getting increasingly hard to stand upright. His body was quivering like a murky blob of goo.

He coughed again and he knew it was his blood in his mouth now, although the taste was really weird, steely, and icy. Wooyoung flopped down to his knees. He couldn’t fight it any longer, and he blamed the fact he hadn’t fed for a while for it.

Looking over at Khun, he found himself still being able to think, and his sluggish brain told him it was surprising that this arrogant bastard was not coping with this odd attack too well.

Khun lay on the ground, twitching, and coughing up blood. The blood looked unusual, dark silvery. The older vampire’s face had turned ash grey, and there were dark circles around his eyes. And his eyes… Wooyoung blinked falling to the ground, hitting a cold tile with his left cheek. Those eyes were supposed to be warm chocolate brown, he thought, why were they dark silver?

That was when he heard them approach. There were at least ten of them. Wooyoung saw their legs shod in heavy leather boots as they walked past him and focused on Khun. They were humans. But they smelled so bad Wooyoung thought he would start retching, vomiting all that silvery blood out. Something was vibrating feverishly in Khun’s pocket. Must’ve been his mobile phone.

“Get the blonde one,” someone said. “He said he needed the other one alive.”

Huh?

Wooyoung felt himself frown slightly. Why would anyone need him alive? Oh, they must have meant that Hector guy. Oh, he hated him. He didn’t like him. No, no. His brain kicked in harder, as if urging him to think of a way out of this situation.

One of these dark faceless people kneeled down next to Khun, digging into his jacket’s inner pocket and pulling his phone out. Khun tried to resist, but the hunter pulled out another needle with a narrow glass tube and stabbed it into his left forearm. Khun growled when part of his flesh virtually exploded. Wooyoung caught himself thinking these hunter people really had come well prepared. He heard a jangle of a metal and he realized they were preparing silver chains. For him. Probably. Keeping in mind they were planning on eliminating Khun anyway.

Lying on cold tiles in the middle of the square, he saw a slanted image of one of them pulling out a dagger that glinted in the artificial light. Oh great, he thought, silver.

Then the dagger’s handle cracked and a wooden stake popped up from it. This was when he felt his guts turn to ice. Not that he would be afraid of dying himself (again), he simply didn’t want to witness any of the coven members die. Even if it was this blonde whelp.

Wooyoung tried flexing his fingers, just to see if he still had any control over them. He blinked. It worked.

It was strange how nobody cared about Wooyoung lying further away from the ruckus. Whatever they had injected into them, these bastards must’ve been positive it would bring them down for sure, long enough for them to take care of their business. He also found it peculiar how they were doing this in the middle of the city, albeit in the early hours. Wooyoung was sure there was supposed to be a bunch of surveillance cameras around this place, and the fact that these hunters processed so freely could mean either that they were disgustingly rich to buy their way out of trouble, or that the cameras had been shut off for the time being.

Wooyoung flexed his thighs, and that didn’t hurt too bad, so he figured he was still in a shape good enough to do something about it.

Not that he liked the Thai too much. The royal whelp was an arrogant bastard, and Wooyoung sometimes wanted to kick him very hard in his bony shins. But the death of this royal bastard would severely complicate things for everyone, and Wooyoung was a genuinely good kid. So, given the fact that out of the two of them, he was the one who could still get to his feet, he coughed blood again that still tasted like a very weird metal, and then he stood up.

He could move, he could run, he could still clench his fists, and bust the crap out of these morons. Wooyoung didn’t really know how he could do that while the best natural of the coven was wringing in pain lying on the cold pavement, but right when the wooden stake was about to thrust through Khun’s breastbone straight into his heart, Wooyoung’s fist smashed into the hunters leader’s chin, cracking and breaking the jaw in one try.

Wooyoung stood in front of Khun, shielding him from the hunters, clenching his fists, dark blood trickling from his mouth and dripping on his white hoodie. He scrunched his nose, fighting the pain and baring his fangs, thinking of the best way to get it over with as fast as possible. Even though they were human and he was a vampire, he knew they had a lot of more hand-to-hand combat experience than him. At the moment, however, they were too shocked to realize this vampire youngling was calculating his chances.

“Shit!” one of them helped the leader with the broken jaw to get off the ground. He eyed Wooyoung with a mix of fear and surprise. “Why is he still standing?!”

“Crap, look, his eyes are still normal!” another pointed out, and Wooyoung figured it meant he didn’t have that silvery glint in his irises like Khun did.

“What are you waiting for?” another voice yelled. “Give him another dose!!”

He heard a shotgun being loaded, but before anyone could take aim, Wooyoung lunged forward smashing his elbow into the leader’s temple, rendering him unconscious. At the same time, his knee sunk into another hunter’s stomach, doubling him over. The man gagged and coughed. Someone threw a silver dagger at him, but Wooyoung was still fast enough to avoid that. He got out of the way and the blade struck another hunter’s shoulder. He wailed.

Wooyoung didn’t know if it was blessing or a curse, but he couldn’t move in vampire speed. Instead, he whirled around like a very fast human.

He still had the vampire strength, and he had to measure it well if he didn’t want to kill the hunters off. He settled for a few broken legs, arms, and jaws instead. The thrill of the fight and the adrenaline made him almost forget the pain his body was in, but it would always reaffirm itself when Wooyoung needed to coordinate all of his limbs at the same time. He was too busy dealing with some ninja-like hunter, and he totally didn’t see another one coming. That resulted in a nasty silver sword slash across his chest, totally ruining his hoodie.

Growling and scrunching his nose at the pain, Wooyoung reached out for the sword, wrenching it out of the man’s hands and stabbing it into his left thigh. The blade went right through the flesh and came out on the other side of the leg. The man fell down screaming in pain.

Feeling lousier than lousy and angry at the entire world, Wooyoung turned to the last hunter who was still on his feet. The hunter immediately launched into a ridiculous demonstration of flashy karate moves, including high kicks and airborne splits. Wooyoung puffed his cheeks.

The hunter jumped up for another flashy move, and Wooyoung quickly turned around, swinging his right leg up. His leg was long, and his ankle hit the hunter in the neck. The man fell down with a dull flop and didn’t get up.

“I can do splits too, idiot,” Wooyoung scoffed, huffing his black hair away from his eyes. “Big deal.”

He looked around. The hunters lay scattered all over the square unconscious or severely wounded. No one moved. He was the only man standing.

Wooyoung almost flopped down himself now that the adrenaline rush was over. Pain and fatigue came crashing down once again. Slowly shuffling around the prostrated hunters, he dragged his tired feet towards Khun, halting next to the unconscious hunter leader to snatch Khun’s phone out of his hand.

The phone was still vibrating.

“Hello?” Wooyoung answered making his way towards Khun. The prince didn’t look too good. There were pools of dark silvery blood everywhere and there was definitely something very wrong with his left arm.

“What happened?” Taec sounded urgent and demanding. There was a sound of droning car engines in the background, and Wooyoung figured Taecyeon was already on his way, hurrying through the half empty early-morning streets.

“Hunters,” Wooyoung answered as he kneeled next to Khun. Boy, did he look bad or what.

“How is he?” Taec’s voice almost cracked with tension.

“Not good,” Wooyoung gave the blonde a closer look. “He’s got this weird silvery glint in his eyes, and he coughs up blood, it’s dark grey. And his left arm’s pretty much busted.”

“Shit,” Taec cursed. “Quicksilver poisoning,” knowing what was wrong, he could now think straight. “What about you? You don’t sound too well either.”

“I feel like crap, but I can still stand,” saying these words, Wooyoung actually flopped down on his butt, spreading out his legs, sitting next to Khun. He leaned forward, almost touching the pavement with his nose. Stretching came to him as a reflex really.

“What do you plan on doing?”

“Get out of the crime scene for starters,” Wooyoung mused. “I think I’m gonna take him to one of the rooftops a few blocks south of the Princes Street. You can track him down, right?”

“Right, I’ll be right there,” and Taec hung up.

Sitting up straight and pulling the phone away from his ear, Wooyoung glanced at the display and then right at Khun, who was lying with his good hand on his stomach and his eyes closed. The effects of the infection were still at their highest. His left arm, or what remained of it, looked really bad indeed.

“I didn’t know quicksilver could blast your flesh to pieces,” Wooyoung said.

Khun opened his eyes, but he felt too weak to spare Wooyoung a glance.

“It’s magnesium,” the elder offered. “He gave me a shot of magnesium.”

“Huh?” Wooyoung couldn’t quite follow this.

“I’m…” he coughed. “I’m allergic to magnesium,” his left arm twitched. “And it will heal.”

“That just proves they came exactly for you,” Wooyoung growled getting up to his feet. Every cell of his body screamed at him in pain, but he forced himself to move.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Khun grumbled closing his eyes. The next second he felt a hand underneath his left armpit and he was slowly lifted upwards. Khun felt like his body was made of thousands of aching teeth and he frowned at every single move he was forced to make. He opened his eyes to see Wooyoung hold him carefully, a concentrated look on the youngling’s face as he was also battling the pain inside. “I can do it myself,” Khun declared, trying to free himself from Wooyoung’s grip.

“Yeah right,” Wooyoung let go of him for a second and Khun almost plopped face down onto the ground. Wooyoung caught him at his shoulders before he fell and moved as fast as he could to his right side, taking a hold of Khun’s right wrist and slinging his right arm across his shoulders. Taking a firm grasp of Khun’s ribcage underneath his left armpit with his left hand, Wooyoung made sure the Prince didn’t wobble anymore. “Hyung, I’m just offering my help,” the youngling sighed. “Be reasonable for once and take it as a grown-up.”

“Oh, so now I’m a hyung.”

Wooyoung looked up at the battered man. Even barely alive he was still working on his nerves. On purpose.

“Why do you have to pick at everything I say?”

“Starting Monday, you’re gonna learn some real fighting techniques from Chansung,” Khun carried on with his tune, totally blanking out the youngling close to him. “This thing here was one of the messiest combats I’ve ever seen.”

Wooyoung blinked.

“Junho was right,” he said. “When are you marrying Chansung again?” he smirked. “I’d like the front-row invitation.”

Khun managed to turn his head right at the youngling despite all the pain.

“You…” he narrowed his silvery eyes. “You could use some serious spanking.”

“Ah,” Wooyoung sighed looking up as if to scout which direction was the best to go to. “I’d probably love some,” he then looked down at Khun, whose jaw went slack at Wooyoung’s answer. The youngling grinned. “But not from you,” and he shot up into the sky with Khun in his arms.

 

 

 

 

 

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was actually the most popular chapter back when I posted it on my LJ.  
> I wonder why.  
> LOL.
> 
> And yeah, Wooyoung happens to like listing things.


	12. #12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🔷 Vampire baby Chansung.  
> 🔷 Mature vampire Chansung.  
> 🔷 Vampire hunters and young kids.

_Joseon, 1450s_

 

Water fell across the sharp rocky slope and hurled downwards in graceful cascades from one rock onto the other, until eventually it trickled down into a small pond below. The pond wasn’t the end of it: the flow continued into a small stream, winding its way down through the forest.

In the deep summer night, full moon was high up in the sky, casting an eerie silvery light onto the trees, pallid rays penetrating through the leaves and falling onto the soft ground. Lush plants covered the pond from the eyes of passers-by, although the place itself was rather hard to reach on foot. There was no path leading to this particular part of the mountain.

The moon hung right above the pond, its pale face reflecting fully in the water, as small waves rippled through it, making the reflection lose its original round shape. The moonlight was so intense it was possible to discern colours even for a human eye. The pond was painted in rich grey and dark blue strokes, while the dark green of the trees around it mixed in perfect proportions with the silver moonlight.

It was absolutely silent, save for the never-ending trickling of water. Birds were silent, mammals were silent, not a single cicada dared to release a sound, and only a very sharp ear could hear the insects crawling around.

Usually, animals didn’t mind her presence, but that was not the case when she was in a bad mood. There was a kind of murderous intent emanating from her, and even the smallest of the smallest were smart enough not to trigger anything.

She stood in the pond, water up to her shoulders. Lukewarm pond felt like a warm bath to her, and she wished it were even warmer. Hotter. Hot enough to burn the top layer of her skin, so it would shrivel up and fall off. The scent was gone already, but one could never be too cautious or too clean.

She stood with her eyes closed, feeling the warm drops ricochet off the rocks and then hit the back of her neck, listening to the silence around the pond. It was accompanied by the endless pitter-patter of the waterfall that worked well on her nerves. It calmed her down. Stopped her from thinking too much… Except that it was no longer silent.

She opened her eyes, a small crease forming in between her eyebrows. There were steps. Very quiet steps. Definitely non-human steps, but still. Steps. No way could her ears ever mishear something like that. Someone was slowly making their way through the dense forest towards the pond.

She swallowed down a grunt, submerging below the surface, shivering slightly when water filled up her ears.

She hoped that whoever was wandering around over there, they were simply going to pass by. She didn’t want to deal with anyone. Well, as she didn’t need to breathe, she could wait.

Forcing herself to sit at the bottom of the pond, she hugged her knees as her long hair flowed all around. Everything looked dark silvery blue down below. The dripping water was also a lot louder under the surface. It was so distinct she could no longer catch the sounds from above the surface. She would’ve heard them if the person out there had been human, but now… staring at a small white rock at the bottom of the pond a few feet in front of her, she hoped they would go away as soon as possible.

That was… that was before the blast…

In truth, it was just a strong splash, but to her ears, it came as a powerful blast. For a short while, her brain sort of turned off her ears, as if to protect itself from a sudden sound explosion. So, she opened her eyes wide instead, to see a mass of bubbles and pale skin sink down right in front of her. She stared in astonishment, only to meet a set of equally surprised eyes. Eyes perhaps twice as big as than hers, with long eyelashes and baby-calf irises she could discern even underwater. Black shoulder-length hair moved languidly back and forth to the currents of water, and at first, he simply stared amazed, trying to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. But then after a while, he slowly reached out to touch, to see if she was real, and that was it. That did it.

She growled and lunged at him, not knowing exactly why. She felt so pissed off, she was bound to rip his head off and throw it to the dogs.

Perhaps it was wrong to unleash one’s anger on a completely innocent person, but it was his fault that he walked by, and then dove into her pond, disturbing her peace and quiet. She had wanted to be alone. Absolutely alone. Meeting, seeing, conversing with anyone, and, on top of that, being touched by anyone, was definitely at the bottom of her “to-do” list.

So, she grabbed at his neck with her small hands, locking it in an iron clutch, and pushed him upwards. It took him by surprise and she was strong enough to overpower him in a matter of seconds, so she pushed even further, calling up those scarce levitating skills that she had, and they soared out of the water with a loud gush, crashing onto the grassy bank.

He landed on his back with her right on top of him, both dripping wet and naked, her long hair splayed out all over her back, falling alongside her arms and legs on the grass like very heavy and wet cascades of dark brown. She straddled him, her hands on his neck, fingernails so sharp they were about to pierce through his skin, and she glared daggers him, her dark grey blue eyes narrowed, her fangs bared. A low growl escaped her chest.

He blinked, the mass of his thick black hair inconveniently stuck to his forehead, eyes, cheeks, and his high nose bridge. At first, he was too surprised to see what she really was. He seldom wandered to these lands, but he had heard people talk about it. He was about to believe all the demon rumours, when he suddenly noticed her presence that enveloped him like a thin blanket, and he knew immediately what she was.

He frowned slightly, a crease forming in between his brows, and he raised his hand trying to touch her face out of pure interest and curiosity.

“You’re one of us…” he said surprised.

“Don’t!” she hissed slapping his hand away, gripping his wrist with her slender fingers, and ramming his hand into the ground, her right hand still clutching tight at his neck. “Touch me.”

“Umm…” he was suddenly very aware of every single patch of her wet skin clinging to his sides, almost touching his front.

He realized that certain rules could be bent in the nocturnal society, but one could never totally erase their upbringing, and at this particular moment, his yangban self told him this was not the way to engage in a conversation with a young lady. The current state of undress could not be ignored.

“May I suggest putting on some clothes before… we proceed to figure this out in a civilized conversation?” he said slowly articulating word after word, not quite sure how fluent she was in the Joseon tongue.

“Civilized conversation?” she mumbled the words under her breath as if mulling over an unfamiliar taste. “Civilized conversation?” she scoffed. “Now I look civilized to you?” her voice hitched a few tones higher, ringing loud in the silent forest. He noticed it was rather high, but not shrilly. Her grip on his neck and wrist tightened, and she slammed his head into the thick grassy carpet. He frowned at the dull pain at the back of his head.

“Who sent you?” she hissed, maintaining a fierce eye contact.

“No one,” he tried to swallow, but her grip on his neck was too tight.

“Are you with the hunters,” her hand clutched so hard on his windpipe he wouldn’t have been able to answer even if he wanted to. “Or have you been too curious about the demon?” her eyes were as relentless as her hand.

A tiny trace of fear flashed across his dark eyes, and she didn’t miss that. Her fingers loosened up a little bit so he could speak.

“If there are hunters around here,” he croaked, barely able to make a sound, but keeping his calm. “I shall report them,” he swallowed as she quirked an eyebrow at him. “And you’re not a demon,” he added.

“Are you sure?” her eyebrow rose even higher. “Your people seem to think otherwise.”

He withstood her glare, his nostrils flaring. It was very faint, but the scent was there.

“A plum is still a plum whether it’s yellow or purple,” he said.

At that she blinked. The next second, her hand released him carefully, and she got off him, pulling as far away as possible. Wrapped in her long and wet hair, she squatted next to the closest tree, watching the young male vampire with a mix of surprise and curiosity. Her dark brows knotted in a confused frown.

He pushed himself up slowly, sitting up and giving her a closer look. He was right, she was a nocturnal bloodsucker, with all the body parts in the right places, with two legs and two arms, a pair of eyes, nose and lips – a decent nocturnal to the very core of her dormant heart. So what if she looked a bit different. She must’ve come from far away. He suddenly wanted to know more.

“I might be mistaken,” he began. “But it seems like you’ve had a rough night. I didn’t mean to intrude.”

“Yes, well,” her hands were the ground at her sides as if she was ready to attack or defend herself any second, but her guard went down a little bit. “Now you’re here.”

This young vampire with big bovine eyes and a high nose did not seem hostile. But she didn’t feel like sharing. He didn’t need to know about her life-changing experiences with this old bastard, who didn’t even give her his real name. Why did she save him in the first place?

She focused on the youngling, who was slowly getting back on his feet.

“What about you? What brought you to the demon mountain? Too much thinking?”

He stared.

“Yeah, well,” he then shrugged because he didn’t feel like sharing. She didn’t really need to know that the closest he's had to a partner had basically stomped on his heart and left for the Ming lands. “And you’re not a demon; I can see that you’re the same as me.”

She put her chin on her knee, watching him intently. She wasn’t used to being taken for what she really was in these lands, and that sort of pushed her out of her usual routine. Therefore, rather than supporting his claim, she kept on studying him, registering the way his muscles moved and how he made absolutely no noise when he stood up.

She narrowed her eyes. He was a warrior. A hunter. Or a tracker. A tracker most likely. Perhaps not a fully-fledged one yet, but already on his way to it.

Standing up straight, he ran his hand through his wet hair brushing it back and looked around. He could see his garments lying a little bit further away, but there was no sign of any unfamiliar cloth. Come to think of it, he would’ve noticed it, if there had been any. If not for his eyes, then his nose would’ve definitely caught unfamiliar scent. Nothing could escape his nose. Hyung would always say he had a great potential for being a tracker.

“Where are your clothes?” he asked eventually, turning around and walking towards a narrow patch of grass, where he had folded his garments.

She angled her head as this was not the question she had been expecting to hear. She waited until he was done pulling up his trousers, trying to maintain her gaze locked strictly on the area above his waist. That wasn’t such a hard of a task because this youngling had an extremely aesthetically pleasing ass… she shook her head: shoulder-blades, think shoulder-blades.

She was still shaking her head when he turned around and raised his eyebrows at her, indicating that she hadn’t answered the question. His eyebrows rose in a somewhat condescending fashion, but she found the act so kind she couldn’t utter a word. She looked up instead, pointing her finger up into the skies.

He followed her gaze feeling somewhat confused, not quite sure why he was looking at the lush tree tops, until he saw something flapping in the light breeze. He frowned slightly. Those were small strips of cloth, and he suddenly wondered how it could be clothes in the first place. Nevertheless, he flexed his leg muscles as much as he could and jumped up onto the closest branch of an old tree that could hold him. Then he half-jumped half-glided to another and then another branch, until he was at the top of the tree, and her clothes were in an arm’s reach.

She watched him go. He moved with an effortless nocturnal grace, but somehow, she found his moves a little bit clumsy. Not in a hulky fashion, but more like a rather talented child still learning them proper manners. She could tell he had been turned not too long ago, and she wondered how young he was. He obviously didn’t know how to fly.

He landed right in front of her, giving her the scant pieces of cloth. The only scent he could catch in her clothes was the wind and the forest. Almost as if she had washed them and perched them up high to dry. Turning around so she could dress, he finally caught her scent, too. The tinge and colour aside, he was more surprised at how faint it was.

For some reason, her scent reminded him of cherry blossoms… or maybe plum blossoms… or perhaps something in between… no, most probably plum blossoms. It was very light and refreshing, but at the same time, terribly faint. He wondered why it was so. Most of the nocturnal females he had encountered so far oozed an aroma a lot stronger than that. Maybe it was because she was not from around here. Where was she from anyway?

“How long has it been?” he heard her ask, and there was a slight tinge of an accent in her Joseon speak. More like the difference was in her tone rather than pronunciation. The question might have sounded rather misplaced, but he knew what she meant by that.

“Around ten years?” he thought. “Yes, I think it was exactly ten years a few weeks ago… what about you?”

“A bit over two hundred,” she answered and the quiet motions behind his back grew silent.

He turned around to see her standing dressed in disturbingly short trousers that revealed her pale legs way above her knees, and the upper garment was just as scarce, fully exposing her arms, right from her shoulders. He was not used to seeing women like that. It used to be either fully clothed or absolutely naked, but nothing in between like this.

She stood there looking at him, as if expecting something.

“Oh,” he thought he got it. “I am terribly sorry for having ruined your peace,” he gave a 90-degree bow. “Please excuse me, I shall be going now,” and he turned around on his heel and slowly walked away, grabbing his upper garment from the ground on his way out of the small clearing.

The grass felt soft beneath his feet, the night was still young, and a faint scent of plum blossoms accompanied him along the way, wafting all around him. He would have fun analysing it later on. He could think about scents for hours and even days. The young vampire sometimes found his newly-acquired ability to concentrate on something as intangible as scents utterly amazing.

“Wait!” came an urgent call and he stopped. And turned. She was nervously playing with her fingers looking anywhere but him. “Could you… stay f-for the night… please?”

He frowned slightly.

“I don’t think we should…”

“No, no!” she looked up suddenly. “I don’t think we should either… just…” she blinked rapidly a few times. “Just…” she bit her lip.

He was slightly gobsmacked to see dark red lines rimming her eyes.

“Are you…?” he slowly walked back towards her. “Are you crying? Please don’t cry,” he sounded worried. “Your face will be a mess if you cry…”

“I know, I’m sorry,” she blinked again, willing the red tears away. “It’s just that… what you’ve said… I guess I haven’t realized it’s taken such a toll on me,” she gave a light chuckle. “You’ve taken me for what I really am… and it’s just… been a while. Been a very long while,” she laughed sadly at herself, her hand rubbing at her forehead. “I’m sorry for assaulting you… I was… not myself,” she looked up at him, as he now stood right in front of her. “Could you… please stay? Unless of course, your master needs you.”

He shook his head, a few strands of his shoulder-length hair still stuck to his neck.

“My maker is dead and my hyung is away for a few years, so I definitely can stay,” he , and there was nothing but genuine kindness on his face. She suddenly wanted to grab him, squish him in her arms and never let go. He looked and felt like a tender baby giant. These Joseon bloodsuckers seemed to have a taste for turning mostly the really tall ones.

“Away for a few years?” she angled her head confused.

“Umm… I guess you could say that my hyung ranks pretty high in status, so he sometimes needs to run an errand or two for our Prince, so… he didn’t take me this time because he said it could be too dangerous, so I take it he will be away for a few years…”

“Do you need to be anywhere else?”

“Not really,” he shrugged. At least, not anymore, he thought to himself.

“Then would you mind staying longer?” she asked hopefully.

“I wouldn’t,” he laughed. “Either way, how long have you been in Joseon?”

“Oh around… twenty years or so…” she shrugged walking away from him, slowly edging towards the pond.

“And you’ve been alone all this time?” he suddenly felt a pang of guilt for some reason.

“Well, there was a nocturnal or two,” she sat down on the bank dipping her feet into the water. “I did need to learn the language after all, but… mostly it has been just me,” she nodded. “I cannot really socialize much when I look like a demon, now can I?” she glanced at him as he sat down on her left, with his upper garment placed on the grass next to him. He hadn’t put it on after all.

“Since I’m staying with you,” he stared thoughtfully at the surface of the pond. “You can now tell me everything. You’re interesting,” he smiled at her. “And don’t say you look like a demon, you’re not a demon. You’re beautiful.”

“That is very nice of you, thank you,” she seemed pleased. Despite his manly physique and the undeniable physical beauty, this young vampire here looked so adorable, she just wanted to snatch him and never let him go.

“Anything in particular you would like to do right now?”

“No,” she shook her head and sighed looking up at the full moon.

“Any wishes?” he smiled.

She chuckled amused by his enthusiasm.

“Sometimes I just wish I could have a decent sleep, you know. Without the need to worry that someone could attack me, or maul me, or fry me or…”

“Then sleep,” he said standing up and then pulling her effortlessly away from the bank like a small doll.

“What?” she laughed totally unperturbed by the fact that she was being dragged across the grass by this young vampire. “Here? Now? At night?”

“Why not,” he grinned sitting down and then lying next to her, when he had finally dragged her into the middle of the grassy clearing. “I’ll keep watch, and will wake you up right before the dawn,” he thumped his chest, offering himself as a pillow.

“This is so awkward,” she eyed him hesitantly. “I haven’t slept at night for a very long time…”

“Don’t worry,” he snatched at her hand and pulled her close, her body basically moulding to his from his shoulder to just below his knees. “I always keep my promises.”

“Oh…” she breathed surprised into his chest. “You’re… so warm,” she put her cheek to his skin. He really felt almost hot for a nocturnal.

“Yes, I’ve been like this since the turn,” his voice was calmer and softer, as if he was preparing to lull a child to sleep. “No one knows why.”

“And so comfortable,” she snuggled up closer to him. He chuckled.

“I’m at your service,” his left arm hugged her around her shoulders. She fit perfectly into his arms, and he was slightly surprised how the only thing that lingered in his mind was the instinct to protect. He also felt excited about tomorrow and many other days to come.

“I’m Emma, by the way,” she introduced herself right before blacking out. Maybe she was being crazy trusting this youngling, but she didn’t care at the moment. The warmth emanating from his body was soothing and relaxing.

“Chansung. Hwang Chansung.”

“Nice to meet you, Chansung,” she closed her eyes.

“Nice to meet you, too,” he gave another tender smile.

 

 

_Present day_

Chansung closed the mahogany door and stared at one point in between the intricate wooden pattern. He was not worried. He was pissed. Pissed to the point he could’ve laid waste to the entire house, but his rational side, still residing deep behind the emotional turmoil, told him it would’ve been a very bad idea, so he just heaved a very slow sigh to calm himself down.

In such situations, he found breathing a very good mean of meditation. The oxygen was not necessary for him to survive, but when he concentrated on this flow of air going in and out, he could let his mind focus on something less stressful. After all, he could not smoke to relieve stress like some humans did. Tobacco, just like oxygen, had no effect on him. Therefore, he chose the cheaper option.

He propped his forehead against the door, feeling slightly dizzy. A narrow trickle of red ran down his right forearm and he looked down to see very deep teeth marks on his pale skin. His veins were basically busted, and the regeneration took longer than the usual because the amount of blood taken was just too great.

The vampires believed that feeding on someone with the same imprint made one heal faster, and with their personal medic (a.k.a. Ms Yena Kinlan) backing up the theory, Chansung had allowed Khun to drink until he felt a strange heaviness shroud the top of his head. Yena basically kicked him out of the room mumbling “One day your kindness will kill you.” He didn’t care.

Sensing a presence on his right, Chansung turned his head slowly too see Taec standing right next to him. The younger vampire had his long arm out, offering the elder two bags of donor blood. B positive. Chansung looked at the blood and then his gaze travelled up the arm with the rolled-up sleeve, then along the shoulder covered in red plaid shirt, and then up the tensed face that looked terribly pale despite Taec’s natural bronze skin tone. His dark deep eyes shone with anger, anxiety, frustration, and a few other emotions Chansung knew all too well.

“Don’t feel guilty,” he reached out for the blood bags and frowned as the pain seared through his bitten right arm. Clenching the arm tight to himself, to avoid his blood dripping down and ruining Yena’s carpet, Chansung took the bags with his left hand, and stood straight as the dizziness in his head eased a bit. “It’s not you, it’s the imprint eating you.”

“I should’ve gone there sooner,” Taec looked down clenching his fists.

“Should’ve, could’ve…” Chansung considered opening the bags here and now, but then figured it would be better to consume them in private. “We still have him. That’s the only thing that matters.”

“We’re just lucky Wooyoung was passing by…” Taecyeon’s voice was drenched with anger that, Chansung knew, was directed at none the other, but himself.

Despite his highly logical mind, his IQ that was sky-rocketing through the roof, and his immense strength, Taec, after all, was still a relatively young and sensitive vampire, who didn’t even have his own venom yet. There were just some things he took hard.

“Yes, we are lucky,” Chansung nodded. “But you should stop thinking about all the “what ifs.” Were you to continue doing so, that is a straight road to madness,” he smirked. “And we need you sane.”

True to his own nature, Taec couldn’t help but snort.

“How’s Wooyoung?” Chansung asked, little by little pulling Taec out of his misery. Taecyeon was supposed to be forced to think about various things. No way could he be left alone to his own devices when he was not in a stable state of mind.

“Battered, confused, but ok,” Taec perked up. “He’s downstairs in the kitchen with Bruno, probably thinking what’s wrong with him. Again. Yena said he’s not supposed to feed until she takes a sample, so I just relayed her orders. I guess we were also lucky he’s partially immune to quicksilver, huh?”

“Mhm,” Chansung nodded again. “They figured it out the other night, when Yena was working with Junho until the early hours; remember when you had to carry her upstairs to sleep?”

“Oh right…”

“I didn’t pay too much attention, but it was something about his lack of imprint. Junho then suggested finding antibodies and producing a vaccine or something like that. Yena was up for that, but then she had to sleep. I bet she will be more than eager to work on that now. Good thinking, that Junho kid…” the elder smiled.

“Speaking of which, where is he?” Taec frowned. “Wasn’t he supposed to feel the blood call?”

“I texted him to stay put wherever he was, once I sensed something was wrong,” Chansung explained. “I figured if we were being targeted, it was definitely not the best idea for all of us to gather at the same place.”

“I thought he was grounded…” Taec rubbed the back of his head, thinking and pulling at his left ear. Then it hit him. “You… TEXTED him?”

“Hey,” Chansung pursed his lips. “I might be a little bit slow, but I know how to text people, ok? And I allowed the kid one hour out for feeding. House arrest or not, blood bags are only for emergency,” he waved the bags in front of Taec’s nose. “And animal blood is for… Wooyoung.”

Taec snorted again. Chansung moved away from the door.

“Your turn,” he motioned at the door with his head. “May I say his fangs are especially sharp today, so be prepared.”

“You think he’ll take me?” Taec asked doubtfully. “He didn’t want to when I found them back in the city...”

“Stupid royal softie,” Chansung clicked his tongue rolling his eyes. “He’ll have to. Besides, Yena and hyung are in there. He’ll have no other choice.”

“Alright,” Taec grinned and noticing that Chan was turning to leave, he asked blinking. “Going somewhere?”

“Ah, up on the roof,” Chan motioned upwards. “This whole house is a bit of a torture for my nose right now. Quicksilver infection and tons of blood here,” he motioned at the door. “Quicksilver infection and patches of dried blood there,” his chin pointed at the other side of the hall that led downstairs into the kitchen. “My nose needs a break,” being a tracker sometimes had disadvantages of its own.

“Alright, then,” Taec put his hand on the metal door knob. “I’ll see you later, unless hyung gives us individual orders.”

Chansung waved with his healthy arm blood bags in hand as he walked away towards the staircase to the attic. He heard Khun’s door close quietly and he nodded to himself, feeling less dizzy. In fact, if he were to name the exact state of mind he was in at the moment, he would have called it… blank.

Having opened the skylight in the attic, he slowly levitated upwards, noticing how hard it was for him to concentrate and make his body glide. His flying skills sucked in general, but with a great blood loss, it was almost impossible. When he finally emerged onto the rooftop, he realized it was very close to dawn, but he figured he still had enough time to empty the blood bags and, if he were lucky, the omnipresent clouds would cover the sun for a while until it was time for him to go. The question was, however, where exactly he was supposed to go.

Chansung sat down on the small bench, set there on roof especially for them, and he ripped the first bag open, sticking the straw inside. If there was a model of consistency in their coven, it was Taec – he even made their blood bags look like juice packets.

Slowly sipping the relatively fresh blood, Chansung realized he knew exactly where he was supposed to go. Whether alone or with the support of the coven, he wanted to find this Hector guy and rip his head off.

He knew that Hector had a few centuries of experience against him, but Chansung always believed that wherever was will, there was a way. And once he was through with Hector, he would go and deal with Khotan too. He didn’t care that it was mission impossible. Chansung wasn’t afraid of dying. In fact, Khotan’s shadow had been lingering upon them for so long, that unawares, setting Khun free from it at any cost has become the main objective in Chansung’s life. Were he to succeed in this, which he never would really… what would be next? A person without a purpose was like a sailing ship without a wind in the ocean.

 _You outdated fossil, no one needs sails and the wind these days, there’s this thing called internal-combustion engine, you know…_ He suddenly heard Taec’s voice inside his head.

Chansung laughed quietly to himself, catching the straw with his lips and taking another sip. That’s right. He should take a broader perspective. There’s not only Khun. There’s this Junho kid now, too. That youngling was so independent that Chansung sometimes found it hard to believe the kid had his imprint.

Khun had spent the first century basically attached to Chansung’s hip, while Junho didn’t have any trouble staying away. Sipping the blood slowly and feeling his wound closing up, Chansung figured Junho was more individualistic by nature, and in a way, that reminded Chansung of himself. He also had been an independent youngling, who could easily fend for himself. That was one of the reasons Minjun hadn’t been too worried about leaving him alone for longer periods of time back in the days. Chansung smirked. Some of those periods were rather interesting.

He pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket, thinking he should call Junho. Sometimes he couldn’t believe the change he’s witnessed in that kid. From a bratty voracious new-born to an obedient and responsible youngling. Now, who said men couldn’t change. Although perhaps, that had been just your average rebellion period, absolutely required in the development of every single new-born. Chansung had broken an additional neck or two in his days as well.

Smirking mischievously to himself, he unlocked the screen and was about to press the speed dial number 4, when his phone began vibrating on its own. He almost dropped it.

Though not really. He stared at his phone, its screen flashing with the incoming call from unknown number. It was a 13-digit number, and he only recognized the area code. +82.

He wondered who could be calling him from Korea at this time. All the important people knew that he wasn’t much of a talker over the phone.

“Hello?” he answered, not realizing how tired and groggy his voice was.

“I…” the person on the other end sounded like they’ve had a very long rant prepared, but suddenly the whole plan went out of the window. “What happened?” Emma asked.

Chansung figured he sounded terrible if she picked it up over the phone. She was good at picking weird vibes in the air in general, it’s just that it took her some time to register those vibes actually meant something.

“They made an attempt on Khun,” there was no use in hiding it from her.

Silence. Only the slow hustle of a waking city reached his ears.

“Make a plan before you go out to kill them,” Emma said eventually. Chansung smiled because he knew she meant it. “How is he?”

“His left arm was pretty much pulverized, but it will heal. It will be nasty and will take time, but he will be ok,” he held back. He wanted to say more, but he didn’t want to burden her with his thoughts because he knew she would take them to heart and then worry sick about him.

“How are you?” she asked.

“I’m fine,” he lied.

“Hwang Chansung,” there was a silent threat in her voice that he felt even over the phone. So, he just finished sipping his blood bag and ripped open the second one.

“Currently leeching off Taec’s stock of B positive and thinking of what I would do to the bastard who’d planned this if I got my hands on him. I will spare you the details though…”

“Whatever you do, don’t. Go. Alone,” she emphasized. “Remember what we talked about. You are powerful beyond your years, but you can’t take on a few millennia old vampire.”

“Hector is no more than a thousand years old,” Chansung said staring at his feet, the straw in between his lips. “And he didn’t even do it himself, he sent hunters armed with quicksilver to get the job done.”

“What?” if there was one thing she hated; it was vampires who hired humans to do their dirty deeds. “Hector?” Emma growled under her breath. “Isn’t it that this old Brit shit? Khun’s elder… sibling?”

“Right.”

“How did Khunnie manage to make it?” she sounded worried and amazed at the same time. “If they cornered him alone with quicksilver guns…”

“Our youngest happened to be passing by and guess what, he is resistant to quicksilver, yippee doody doo,” she snickered at the weird choice of words (sounds?) coming from Chansung’s mouth.

“The youngest? Which one is it?”

“Wooyoung,” he sipped the blood faster, as his strength was coming back quickly with every sip he took.

“What an interesting boy,” Emma marvelled. “I should pack my bags and go back to meet him. It’s terribly boring here.”

“No, you shouldn’t,” Chansung objected.

“And why is that?” she asked surprised.

“Because he’s totally your type,” Hwang Chansung deadpanned. An animated laugh reached his ear from the other side of the world.

“How do you know what’s my type?” she asked sounding highly amused.

“Because I know you,” Chansung smirked. “You like this good boy type with bad attitude.”

“What?” Emma laughed. “Good boy with bad attitude? What’s that supposed to mean? Care to elaborate?”

“A good boy, who is exhibiting signs of a rather rude behaviour because he is not sure how else he is supposed to display his interest in you.”

“… You should write one of these self-help books that are so popular these days. You’d be rich,” Emma pointed out.

“I’ll think about it,” Chansung smiled. “By the way, I’ve sent out the collection of old texts I copied to Korea already. Should reach you in a day or two.”

“Really? Thank you! Finally, at least will have something to do…”

“Why?” Chansung frowned slightly. He suddenly remembered it was her who called him, and at first, she sounded like she wanted to tell him something. “What’s going on? Are they treating you well? Shouldn’t you be asleep by the way? What time is it now?”

“It’s 2 pm!!” Emma huffed. “It’s snowing heavily, but I can’t go outside because your prince is ignoring me point blank, and that boy is still stalking me.”

Chansung burst out laughing. He couldn’t believe how great it felt to laugh. It was exactly what he needed. Even if he spat out a few ounces of blood in process.

“That boy found you again, huh?” he giggled.

“He diiiiid~” she whined. “Persistent little bastard.”

“From what I remember, he’s quite good looking, just go for it.”

“Chansung, he’s only 18!” she hissed.

“Oh, so he’s legal already?” Chansung smirked and he knew she could tell it.

“Argh!!” she threw a small tantrum making him giggle even harder. Although, come to think of it…

“Jihoon hyung is ignoring you?” he asked.

“Yes,” he could tell she was pouting. “I was scheduled to meet him once I landed, but Joon rescheduled the meeting for the next day. That was almost a week ago. I’m tired of calling Joon every single day. I have no idea what I’m doing here. If that Prince doesn’t want to meet me… I mean, he must be a really busy person… I should phone Amber and tell her I’m calling it quits. The hell. Extending her thanks my ass, she just wanted to flaunt me in front of the Prince, like, oh lookie, I have an 800-year-old blood virgin in my flanks and you don’t ha ha…” she sounded very bitter.

“You have a young boy hovering behind your door if you need to let off steam,” Chansung reminded her.

“Hmm, well, even so, that wouldn’t change my blood composition, and you know it…”

“Mhm,” he nodded mulling over everything. “Well, too bad Jihoon hyung doesn’t have time for you, you’d like him, he’s your type too…”

“Oh great, another rude bastard.”

Chansung almost spluttered his blood out. Coughing slightly and trying not to laugh (he couldn’t imagine anyone calling their prince “bastard” and not being at least slapped for that, and here she was doing it just like that), he said:

“Just wait a little bit more, and then come back,” it sounded almost like he wanted her back.

“You are probably right, just…” she was doubtful. “Promise me something.”

“What?”

“Don’t do anything rash until I’m back,” she really meant it. “If you’re gonna die, I need to kick your ass first.”

“I’ll see what I can do about it,” Chansung promised.

“Good.”

“Later.”

 

“Later,” she pressed the red button and pulled the phone away from her ear.

Looking at the wide touch-screen, Emma couldn’t help but wonder at the little invention that happened to be so useful these days. Amazing.

Still slightly worried about Chansung, she quickly ran her thumb across the screen through her contact list. The list slid upwards, and she was fast to reach the top of the alphabet. She had to call Amber. Whether the older vampire liked it or not, Emma was not going to stay in Korea any longer. She liked the country, but the people were beginning to work on her nerves.

She was about to press “call” when there was a knock on her door.

Lowering her arm and looking around her small living room, she pricked her ears and gave it a listen. It was human, because the person was breathing.

It had been snowing since the early morning and the sky was covered in a thick layer of clouds, so she had kept her curtains open. The room was bright, and there was nothing out of the ordinary – the usual small living-room with a small hall. Nothing but a tea table, and a sofa, and an armchair with a few scant decorations in a rented flat. No harm if a human saw that.

Emma walked towards the door and opened it widely. And then she shut it off just as fast. She stomped away not even bothering to lock it up.

“No! Wait!” there was a muted cry on the other side. The door handle moved and it opened wide, letting the person walk inside. Emma turned to look at him.

He was definitely not endowed in the height department, but he had a manly physique. His frame looked like a distinctive “T” and at the moment, his shoulders looked even wider as he was wearing a puffy jacket. His face didn’t really match whatever was below his neck because he had big, mismatched, single-eyelid Bambi eyes and a slightly round face that still had traces of his fading baby fat. To top that peculiar ensemble, he had a bit of a character and spoke in Busan dialect. “This was at your door,” he raised his hand, holding a dark brown envelope.

“So, you’re rummaging through my mail now, huh?” Emma pursed her lips and snatched the thick envelope from Dongjun’s hand.

The envelope had her name was written in Hangeul, and she could recognize that handwriting anywhere. It must’ve been the old texts that Chansung had copied down for her. Slightly giddy about the oncoming challenge of deciphering Middle Korean, she suddenly wasn’t bothered too much by the kid standing in the middle of her living-room anymore.

“No… I just…” he sighed and took off his dark beanie, consequently messing up his brown-dyed hair. “Listen, can we just forget the fact that I like you and you hate it for a little while, and focus on something else? It’s important.”

Emma slowly looked up from her package and concentrated on the kid, because there was something in his voice that did not let her doubt him. Dongjun nodded, thanking her for attention.

“We’ll be quick,” he said.

“We?” she frowned slightly when the boy glanced back at the door and called:

“Hyung.”

When he walked in through the door, Emma forgot she was supposed to take a close sniff of air, to determine what the newcomer was all about. For a second there, his appearance just short-circuited her brain. There were black boots and trousers, and a long black coat. There was pale skin and jet-black hair, and soft pink lips begging to be kissed. And there were big eyes behind dark bangs, but the look in those eyes was so cold and searing, it gave a particular sharp edge to those big deer pupils.

Emma blinked. There were four types of good-looking people in this world: simply good-looking, handsome, pretty, and Khun-pretty. This one here was Khun-pretty. And there was such a great vampiric aura around him and in everything he did, even in the way he walked, that only after a second did Emma recognize he was human. Not older than 25. It was an utterly disturbing experience.

Breaking the eye contact, she looked down and put her thick brown envelope with the book inside on the tea table, because she figured she should meet her guests whoever or whatever they were in a decent fashion. When Emma looked at the stranger again, she suddenly realized with a bout of apprehension, why she had almost mistaken him for a vampire.

There was a gun directed straight at her. Without a doubt, the man was a hunter.

 

She stared him in the eye as he stared back at her, nothing but the gun in between them. Dongjun shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, looked around the room that barely had any decorations, and then leisurely sat down into the armchair closest to him. He did not seem to care.

“Your lack of action is disconcerting,” the hunter uttered still keeping his eyes on her. He spoke in a soft, slightly husky voice.

Emma thought of the best way to put it. With the first shock of surprise gone; she had a whole bunch of thoughts whirling in her head.

“You would have shot me when I wasn’t looking if you’d wanted to have any chance in taking me down,” she withstood his steely eyes. “I could get out of the shooting range before you even pressed that trigger,” the female vampire then cast a fleeting glance at the weapon. “And your gun is loaded with ordinary bullets.”

He angled his head, obviously cocking one dark eyebrow, and then raised the gun up, giving her a wry smirk.

“You’re alright,” he said hiding the gun in a holster strapped on the left side of his ribcage. “With a crispy clean Korean, I might add,” the hunter commended her.

“Why thank you,” Emma couldn’t help but fold her arms across her chest. She turned to look at the boy in her armchair. “Care to explain?”

Dongjun simply shrugged.

“I’m the one, who’s supposed to do the explaining here,” the hunter sounded somewhat apologetic, and Emma concentrated on him again, slightly shocked to see him do a 90-degree bow. “Excuse me for barging in like that,” he stood straight, and she realized his broad shoulders made him visually shorter than he really was. “My name is Jaejoong, and I have been working directly under Jihoon hyung for the last 7 years. I’m not a bounty hunter; I am more of a private investigator.”

“Jaejoong’s the best vampire tracker in this part of the world,” Dongjun butted in from where he sat, a tinge of respect and admiration in his voice.

“Hush,” Emma didn’t even spare him a glance, frowning slightly at this hunter who introduced himself as Jaejoong. “Jihoon hyung?” wait, where has she heard the name again?

“The vampires call him _Prince_ _Taejo_ ,” Jaejoong explained.

“Oh, the prince guy,” Emma stooped a little bit unfolding her arms and then walked over to her sofa, to slump into it as if she had no more strength left. “What about it?”

“I’ve been tracking two ancient vampires for the Daegu coven at the request of the prince for quite some time now,” Jaejoong walked slowly towards her and stopped in front of the small table, standing in between the sofa and the armchair.

He lifted the parcel wrapped in brown paper from the tabletop and half-handed half-threw it to Dongjun. He then sat down onto the table, elbows on his knees, his hands dangling down in a lazy fashion. Angling his head slightly to the right, he looked up at Emma. Everything he did to the very tiniest detail was terribly vampiric. It was actually rather creepy. And Emma thought Yena was already vampiric enough. However, part of her brain was very interested in the conversation at hand.

“By Daegu coven, you mean Minjun and his crowd?” she asked.

“Yes,” he nodded.

“And what does this search have to do with me?”

“I’ve recently unearthed the whereabouts of one of these vampires, but there is no way I can contact anyone, because I need to lay low for a time being. I don’t even keep in touch with the prince,” he shrugged. “I suppose I was lucky to bump into Dongjun the other day,” he smiled.

“Why do you need to lay low?” Emma asked suspiciously. Jaejoong smirked.

“When you’re a high-profile vampire hunter, you’re bound to have some nasty enemies,” he sounded like he was talking about generic ways to make a sandwich. “I’m not sure how urgent this matter is for Minjun, but if he needs to know more about that person ASAP, he should fly over and meet me face to face. So, if you could relay him the name, I would highly appreciate that.”

“Why me?”

“Because I was told you are close to the coven, and you’re currently in Korea. Simple as that.”

“10 minutes, hyung,” Dongjun uttered out of the blue. It was hard to tell how he was keeping the track of time because neither did he have a watch, nor did he look at his phone. Jaejoong stood up in an almost graceful fashion, even though the matter seemed to be urgent.

“Alright,” Emma looked up at him, feeling slightly miffed. “I’ll relay the name if you give it to me.”

“The name’s Jay Park. It was commissioned personally by Minjun,” Jaejoong bowed again. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am hoping to meet you sometime later, under far more pleasant circumstances,” with that, he turned around and left her small apartment with an air of dignity, as if his life had not been in a jeopardy.

“I bet he has a few bounty hunters after his head as well,” Emma mumbled as the door closed. “And he doesn’t even act like it…”

“He can easily deal with vampires,” Dongjun pointed out, sitting in the armchair like a specimen of a puffy cupcake. “Human bounty hunters are no match for him.”

Emma turned to look at him sharply.

“Why are you still here?” she frowned.

“Because I am selfish and don’t want to get shot,” he shrugged. “It’s kind of dangerous to hang out with Jaejoong right now, and I don’t have his vampire-like spidey senses.”

Emma mulled over it momentarily, pushing behind the fact that this boy made her feel ill at ease.

“Indeed,” she said eventually. “If it weren’t for his scent, at first glance, he could be easily mistaken for a vampire…” she trailed off thoughtfully.

“I know right?” Dongjun perked up suddenly, leaning forward, putting his elbows on his knees, and focusing on her with his star-studded eyes, like he was about to share a piece of very important information. “The rumour has it that Jaejoong’s mother was bitten when she was still pregnant with him, and when he was born, he already had some vampire features, because of the venom that had been injected into his mother’s body.”

Emma listened to him with her face absolutely blank. Then, little by little her features moulded into an expression that clearly said “you can’t be serious.”

But he really was. The kid was 100% sure the things he was talking about were real, and so, she couldn’t help but scoff. She was too horrified by the misconceptions coming out of his mouth to feel annoyed by his presence. The inner teacher took over, disregarding her attitude towards the boy.

“Alright,” she leaned forward. “First of all, a vampire injects the venom only with intention to turn a person. So, if his mother had been turned, she would’ve automatically aborted the foetus,” Emma smirked inwardly noticing Dongjun shiver with disgust. “If she was bitten and the vampire only fed on her… and if she survived and then gave birth to this Jaejoong boy later, then kudos to her,” she pulled back, leaning against the backrest of the sofa. “Strong lady,” Emma shrugged. “But a vampire feature transfer through blood to unborn child…” she trailed off, the look in her eyes somewhat distant. “Sorry,” the vampire shook her head. “That’s fan-fic material. Not possible.”

Dongjun watched her with a mix of disappointment and admiration.

“Really?” he pouted. “So, no hope for Korean Blade, huh?”

“He might be a Korean Blade for all he wants,” Emma chuckled. “Just that his skills are not acquired the Blade-way,” she frowned slightly, mulling over every possibility she could come up with. “In some cases…” she began and trailed off again as if not sure whether she was supposed to carry on.

“What?” Dongjun was hanging on her every word. It was rare to hear her talk so much, especially to him. “Go on.”

“Vampire bite is painful and…” she thought of the best way to put it. “The venom is a good painkiller, so sometimes a vampire might inject a very small amount of it to ease the pain. Not big enough to turn anyone. Then,” she emphasized. “The side effect (if the person survives that is) would be an enhanced sensitivity to sun… That’s the only vampire feature that can be transferred, but it wears off really fast, so it’s only temporary…” she thought. “So, I guess your friend is only a very gifted human being… why… are you looking at me like that?”

Dongjun stared at her with a very weird look in his eyes. As if he had seen her in a completely different light. He didn’t know what was more surprising – the fact she knew Blade or that she talked to him this much.

“You’re back to normal,” he said eventually.

“Excuse me?” she blinked slowly.

“This is the way you talked to me when we first met,” Dongjun pointed out. “But then suddenly you went all don’t-touch-me-I-bite. It’s almost like you were planning to feed on me, and then suddenly decided not to.”

“I did,” Emma glared at him from below her dark eyebrows with her head slightly lowered down.

“What?” the kid hiccoughed, leaning back into the armchair, looking slightly taken aback.

“I was going to feed on you, but then decided not to,” she shrugged shoving her hand into her jeans pocket and pulling out her sleek black phone. Unlocking the screen, she saw that the user’s interface was still frozen at her contact list. Swiping her finger over one of the names she chose the text message option instead of “make a call.”

“Why?” he asked curiously, quickly getting over the initial shock.

“Because you looked healthy and smelled nice, why else,” Emma blurted out nimbly typing the message, not even bothering to glance at the boy.

“No,” Dongjun smiled. “I mean, why did you change your mind?”

Emma stopped fiddling with her phone and focused exclusively on Dongjun. She tried to remember exactly why she had felt bothered by him in the first place.

“Because you’re a child. And I don’t feed on a person if there is some kind of attachment in between,” she put down her phone. “And then there you were coming up to me, saying you liked me and you’d like to know me better.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Dongjun frowned. “Usually works for the girls here,” he shrugged.

“Well, I’m not a girl from here,” Emma got up from her sofa, grabbed the package that was still in Dongjun’s hands, and walked away from him towards the window that opened into a snowy inner-yard. She ripped the brown paper open.

“Oh,” Dongjun jumped from the armchair, a slightly annoyed expression on his young face. “So, you’re all sociable and friendly when it’s light and easy, but when things get serious you bail out and run away.”

“I don’t run away,” Emma hissed and looked up from the package to see Dongjun stand right in front of her. He was just a few centimetres taller, and there were still these undeniable traces of childhood on his face, but his aura was definitely manly.

“Oh yeah?” he scowled. “Then what are you doing now?”

“I’m not listening,” she shook her head and continued ripping the brown paper off the parcel. “La la la la la…”

“I find you interesting!” Dongjun raised his voice to get through her tra-la-la. “Why is it wrong to want you…? I mean…” he flustered a little bit shaking his head. “I just want to get to know you better, why’s that wrong?”

She finally ripped the paper off and threw it away, focusing on Dongjun, feeling more frustrated than ever.

“Do you even hear what you’re saying?” her eyes were throwing grey blue daggers at him. Dongjun pursed his lips. He knew why she found his statements outrageous, but he wanted her to see his point as well.

“I’m not stupid,” he said looking away, unable to withstand her glance. “I don’t want to become a vampire, and you don’t believe in happy ending, so… can’t we just enjoy the moment?”

Emma beheld the boy while he gazed at the book in her hands. She was trying to figure out what was up with this kid, because as far as she knew, this was not the way your average 18-year-old would think. He was way far from being idealistic.

“Is that… _Gyerim_ _Ryusa_?” he asked out of the blue, ogling the title of the bound volume. “The collections of texts from the Goryeo era?”

Emma blinked, surprised that this youngling recognized the Chinese characters.

“Yes?”

Dongjun looked at her again, a strange flame in his eyes. It seemed he had found a long-lost treasure.

“Is that… the original?” he whispered almost as if he didn’t dare to breathe in the presence of the book.

“A friend of mine copied it from his memory.”

“Memory?” Dongjun frowned confused.

“He’s a Joseon vampire,” Emma explained.

“And you can read it?” he almost gasped.

“Yes.”

“You can speak Middle Korean?”

“Yes,” she couldn’t understand why he was so agitated.

“Can you teach me?”

Emma frowned slightly.

“Please?” he looked almost desperate as he reached for her forearm. His fingertips touched her exposed skin, and he didn’t even shiver at the cool sensation of her flesh.

The inner guide in her, who was eager to point out the right things, was battling the general annoyance of the utterly disturbed woman, who could not understand why an 18-year-old from Busan found her attractive.

But then her nature was too strong.

“Alright,” she said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the breaking point where things do get interesting.  
> I usually re-read this story starting from Khun's assault ^^;;
> 
>  
> 
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	13. #13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🔷 Wooyoung gets some ice-cream.

_Present day, Glasgow_

 

Sleepy heads often cannot get up early in the morning. If they are dragged out of bed by force, they are terribly grumpy and close to killing anyone, who dares to disturb their peace. And since vampires usually retain some of their human habits, vampire sleepy heads exist, too. Obviously, it is virtually impossible to wake them up at day time. They are more eager to black out during the day than the rest of the species, and they will black out even on a rainy day despite the fact they don’t need to.

In a sense, such affection towards sleep could be explained by a particular attitude developed in the vampire’s mind. Physically, a vampire does not require daily sleep. However, wake up an owl type vampire from their peaceful slumber, and you are bound to experience a terrible wrath unleashed upon you. That is why when you need to wake one up, you do it in style. And flare.

Her brain registered something burning, but it did not reach out for her consciousness. Perhaps, the part of the brain responsible for touch and smell knew too well it was futile to try forking the conscious out from the dark pits of the vampire slumber. But when the situation began to threaten the overall survival of self, the brain finally gave it a hard kick, and she opened her eyes. Right in front of her, on her black satin sheets, her hand was frying. At last, she registered the pain.

“Shit!” Amber hissed rolling away from the flood of ultra-violet light. There was one strong lamp installed in her ceiling right above her bed.

She grabbed her phone from the nightstand and jumped out of her bed, shaking the burnt hand that has begun to heal. Her big room was shrouded in darkness because there were black blinds and shutters on the huge windows – everything set perfectly for a nice day sleep. But they just had to use the lamp, didn’t they?

Since she was the Regent of Scotland, Amber had some duties to attend to, and in some cases, certain circumstances would arise disregarding the time of the day. So, whether she liked it or not (in fact, she hated it), the blonde had to deal with being awake at day from time to time, because it was literally in her job description.

And as it was virtually impossible to keep her awake at day using the ordinary means, her staff had installed the ultra-violet lamp above her bed, to make sure the master would be awake if need be. However, waking her up remotely and then facing her afterwards were two absolutely different things, and so the reason she had to be woken up would always be sent to her via email or text message. Cowards.

“This would better be good,” Amber grumbled, slowly wobbling towards her writing desk. She turned on the computer and settled down into her comfy office chair, putting her arms on the desktop and squinting at her phone. There were 2 unread messages.

Amber frowned and clicked the first one. It said: “ _Please check your inbox, my lady_.” The sender was unknown. Quietly muttering “cowards” under her breath, Amber snatched at the mouse and clicked the email application on her desktop. She was too lazy to open a browser and then navigate through it towards her email service. The application allowed a lot quicker email access.

There was one new mail message, with a topic “ _This could be serious (?)_ ” and a 20MB-size attachment to it.

Amber frowned clicking through the message and downloading of the attachment. It was obviously a video. Considering it had an exact date and location, she figured it was one of the human CCTV records, and some vampire got caught doing something unacceptable, again. Amber grumbled.

She was getting tired of educating the members of nocturnal community about human technologies. Naturally, some of these technologies were developed with the vampire help, but the problem was that most of the vampires remained oblivious to the danger these developments posed to them. They considered themselves invincible, while Amber was a lot more down to earth, and she knew it might as well mark the end of the vampire world lest it was irresponsibly exposed.

With the video finally downloaded, she clicked it to play and a black & white image sprang up into her screen. Frowning slightly, she recognized the square in from of the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. It must’ve been taken by one of the security cameras from the shops across the street. The square seemed to be empty until she noticed a lone person wander into the open. Amber narrowed her eyes. She knew that boy. It was Minjun’s Wooyoung. The youngest one.

She pulled the screen closer to her, at the same time zooming in, suddenly interested in the video. It didn’t take long for another vampire to appear, and she found it unsettling because she knew him. It was an old local. Around her age. He didn’t participate much in the nocturnal public life, but old vampires like him were usually known. And he certainly didn’t hang around Asian vampires a lot.

Amber knew it was serious when a particular blonde appeared in the picture, and she almost wanted to smash her computer in rage because they were definitely having an important talk, but there was no sound. The camera recorded only the visuals.

She watched as they talked, then the old local went away, and Khun with Wooyoung debated something, but when suddenly they tensed, and Khun pushed Wooyoung out of the way just to get shot himself. In a matter of minutes, she witnessed them being attacked, basically crumpled, Khun almost getting killed, and then Wooyoung literally blasted all of the hunters and flopped exhausted next to the heavily wounded Khun.

“Shit,” Amber gasped unlocking her phone.

She had totally forgotten about the one remaining text message. The female vampire cast another glance at the screen, to see Wooyoung lift Khun from the ground and then take off into the sky. Then she concentrated on her phone again, and there was a sole message from Emma:

_CALL MINJUN._

It said. And Amber had a pretty good idea why she was supposed to do so. The only question, however, was whether he would pick up, when the situation in his family was this serious.

Closing the media player and locating Minjun’s number in her contact list, she pressed “call” and waited for him to answer. She felt rather apprehensive because on one hand, Amber didn’t think she had a right to be concerned about the coven. There wasn’t supposed to be any kind of emotional involvement. But at the same time, this assault occurred in her lands (well, not really), and she had to secure the law and order in the northern parts of the Isles.

Not to mention that Minjun had never called about the infected vampire blood sample he had taken in Dornoch. Surprisingly, the infected vampire now felt as fit as a fiddle, but something definitely must’ve been wrong with him, and Amber wanted to know what it was. If it were serious, it could’ve been used against them by anyone who had the formula.

He picked up after a third ring.

“Hello?” his voice sounded husky and distant.

“Hello,” she greeted, noticing her voice came out lower than usual. “I was wondering… If…” she suddenly wondered how she was supposed to deliver it without denting his self-esteem. “Are you coping well?”

There was a silence, and then she heard the door being closed. It sounded like he left a room. Just for a few brief seconds, she could catch three other voices through her receiver: one feminine, relatively high yet soft, and two other male voices, one deep and low, another softer and silky like satin.

“You know, don’t you?” he asked, his footsteps echoing in a hall. She figured honesty was the best policy with this person.

“Your boys got caught on camera,” she said staring at her monitor. “And I know that vampire…”

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t get involved,” he sounded sincere. “It’s a long story, and we’re already in deep as it is.”

“Well…” Amber got off her chair and walked around the desk towards the wall decorated with dozens of photographs. “You might have something personal against him, but he also breeched the general order by coming out in the open like that… Not to mention hiring the hunters,” she stopped and stared nothing in particular, leaned against the sofa. “I need to keep the order in these lands.”

“I understand,” he answered. “But keep in mind that his maker is still alive, and you could stir a beehive you wouldn’t want to… umm… stir,” even though he had a great way with words, he sometimes would still muddle along with his English.

“Why would local vampires this old be after you?” she never really knew where was this thin line between economic cooperation and personal involvement.

“They are not exactly local…” it seemed like he struggled discussing it. “It has something to do with Khun, and I would rather not talk about this on the phone. I will come by when the sun goes down, alright?”

“…” she was slightly taken aback. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am sure,” he sounded resolute. “I need to reconsider certain things and I definitely cannot do it here, when everyone is totally wired. For some reason… your presence makes my thoughts flow… smooth.”

“Oh…” she stared at her bare feet. “Well… I guess I should be flattered… By the way, anything new on that blood sample from Dornoch?”

“Yena was working on it, but I guess it will be postponed with everything that happened here tonight… Sorry about that,” he really sounded apologetic.

“I see… No need to be sorry,” she moved away from the sofa and slowly walked towards the writing desk with the intention to turn off her PC and go back to sleep. If he really was going to come over, she had to use every single minute of the day she had left. “Force majeure is force majeure…” turning off the computer, she headed towards her bed, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and a black tank-top. Then she remembered something. “Oh… This is totally out of the place, but… did you get my package?”

“Yes,” he seemed to be glad he could change the topic. “Well received and stored safely in our freezer. Thank you,” she could tell he was smiling.

“Well, glad to hear that,” she basically slithered into her bed across the sheets, totally not caring that he might realize what kind of a sleepy head she was. “I’ll see you later in the evening then.”

“Yes, I’ll be there after sunset…” he seemed somewhat hesitant. “Just one more question.”

“What?” Amber snuggled down comfortably, putting her head on her pillow and hugging tight another soft cushion, her left hand still holding the phone close to her ear.

“What are you wearing?” he asked in a rather lewd tone, the one that is usually accompanied by a pair of wiggling eyebrows. Amber snorted.

“I would love to play, but I really need to catch up on my beauty sleep, Minjun…” she found it rather weird to hear herself say his name, but she figured she could get used to the sensation.

“Sweet dreams, my lady,” she could tell he was smirking.

“Don’t push it,” and she hung up.

 

Minjun stood on the ground floor, a few paces away from the kitchen, looking at his phone with a relieved expression on his face. For some reason, this conversation managed to pull his thoughts away from their dire circumstances. Smiling softly to himself, he slid the phone into his jeans back pocket and then glanced into the kitchen.

The kitchen was drowned in twilight as all the blinds were down. And so was the boy in the room: Wooyoung was literally and figuratively down, with his butt perched firmly on a chair, his head plonked onto the table, his hair dishevelled and messy with bits of dried blood stuck to it.

Minjun suddenly felt bad they had left the boy to fend on his own, and didn’t even allow him to feed. He must’ve been in a terrible pain from all the quicksilver that had been injected into his system, but he never uttered a word, just sat there obediently.

Bruno lay on the dining table right in front of Wooyoung, and Minjun could see the boy run his fingers through Bruno’s coat from time to time. Noticing how torn and dirty the youngling’s clothes were, Minjun felt even worse. Everyone was really too preoccupied with Khun to see that the boy also needed to be tended to. In the end, wasn’t he the hero of the day or something like that?

Thinking he should just go and have a word or two with the kid, Minjun shoved both of his hands into his jeans pockets almost pushing the trousers down, but the belt kept it in place. His right hand groped around something thin and long in his pocket. No way. Minjun almost snorted when he pulled a sample syringe out. Totally new and unused. He sure began carrying them around all the time as they moved in with Yena. And since she was still busy with restoring Khun’s fluid balance, he suddenly got an idea.

With a millennium of experience behind his back, sneaking up to a battered vampire (natural or not) was a definite piece of cake for him. Wooyoung realized that something was up only when he felt a sharp stab in the nape.

“A-tta!!” he jumped up even though every single cell in his body ached like there was no tomorrow. He turned around to see Minjun standing behind him with an automatic syringe in his hand. It was full.

“Done,” he announced happily, his eyes shrinking into lovely crescents. Wooyoung pulled a whiny face, bits of dried blood on his nose and cheeks.

“Hyung~” he whimpered feeling almost violated. He was getting sick of people taking samples from his surreptitiously, but he was basically helpless. He could do nothing about it.

“Look at the brighter side,” Minjun grinned walking around the table towards the huge fridge at the back of the kitchen. “Now you can feed,” he put the syringe at the top of the white fridge and opened the top compartment with the freezer.

Pulling out a small square yellow box, he closed the freezer and moved back to the table, putting the box on top of it, in front of Wooyoung. The kid eyed the elder with his bleary eyes. He didn’t really get what was going on. Minjun grinned again and opened the box that, apparently, was full of frozen blood cubes. Wooyoung’s jaw was about to drop. He looked up at the elder again. Minjun smirked wiggling his eyebrows.

“Ice-cream?”

 

He watched slightly dazed and feeling a bit out of place, when Minjun took at handful of red frozen cubes and then put them into a wide half-a-litre cup. Bruno managed to creep towards the cup that was left on the tabletop and give it a sniff, while Minjun placed the main box back into the freezer and then went through Yena’s cupboards until he found and pulled out something that looked very much like a coffee bean grinding machine. The eldest nodded satisfied with himself and plugged the device into the socket, thinking Yena would not be thrilled to see the way he was about to use her device. But she didn’t need to know about that, and he was going to wash it anyway.

Bruno got a terrible fright when the device jarred to life, grinding the frozen blood into pieces so small that eventually it looked like layers of shaved ice. Albeit dark pink.

Wooyoung felt distantly sorry for the cat, who literally skedaddled off the table and ran to hide under the sofa in the living-room. But the youngling was too engrossed into what the elder was doing to get up and comfort the cat. It felt surreal. It was like part of your past life was barging into your current existence in a familiar but deviant fashion. It was just like before and yet it wasn’t. Paired up with his exhaustion and pain, the sensations his brain was forcing him to go through were messing up his mind.

Minjun dumped the mass of ground blood-ice into a high glass. Parts of the ice were beginning to turn into slush already. Then the eldest quickly washed Yena’s machine and zoomed back to the fridge, pulling out a blood bag.

“You’re like Chansung, right?” he asked out of the blue, ripping the corner of the bag without any further ado.

“Huh?” Wooyoung blinked, feeling slightly disoriented; as if someone had just dug deep into his dark web of thoughts and pulled him out into the daylight (no pun intended).

“Your blood,” Minjun explained, raising the bag. “Type B, right?”

“Oh,” the youngling nodded. “Right,” then he watched slightly nonplussed how Minjun covered the top of the shaved ice-blood glass with the liquid dark-red blood, as if it were a very exquisite type of syrup.

Very much satisfied with himself, Minjun took a step back to look at his creation from a far. Nodding happily to himself and smiling smugly, Minjun zoomed back to the fridge that stored their emergency stock, put the half empty bag in there, and then dashed to one of the drawers, pulling out a big spoon and sticking it into the glass. He probably would’ve added a cherry on top of it all, if only it didn’t make the vampires vomit like there was no tomorrow.

“Here you go,” he pushed the glass towards Wooyoung.

The youngling stared at the grotesque ice-cream right in front of him slightly disgusted with himself, because it actually smelled terribly good. He suddenly felt the familiar heaviness in his eyes, and he lowered his head, hiding his face behind the curtain of his thick black hair, his hands on his thighs and his shoulders slightly stooped.

Minjun could see he was trembling a little, and the corners of his lips sagged down. The elder frowned slightly.

“What is it? Is it wrong?” he was worried his ideas about the modern world were incomplete or outdated. “I thought that’s how humans make their desserts these days, ice-cream, isn’t it? Or sundae?” he walked around the table and sat next to Wooyoung. “Well,” Minjun scratched at the back of his head, raising his eyebrows and admitting he was not 100% correct. “This is not EXACTLY how they make it, but I thought maybe…”

“Hyung…” Minjun hushed when Wooyoung uttered in a cracking voice.

He finally looked up at the elder and Minjun was almost shocked to see blood-red tears welling up in his eyes. One lonely drop made its way out of the inner corner of his left eye and ran down his cheek.

“Oh shit, I’m so sorry,” Minjun gasped. “I just talk and talk, and you must be in such a terrible pain,” he babbled. “You will feel better real fast if you feed, but I’ll get Yena just in case, maybe she has something up her slee—” he was about to get off his chair when Wooyoung’s hand on his elbow stopped him.

“No…” he pulled Minjun back. “I… I LOVED ice-cream,” there was an emphasis on the past tense, and it struck Minjun that perhaps this was the first time that Wooyoung finally… realized there would be no going back.

Wooyoung snatched the spoon and scooped a decent amount of vampire ice-cream, shoving it all into his mouth without any further ado. When it collided with the taste receptors on his tongue, he choked on a moan.

He tried very hard to hide it, but a weak whimper escaped his throat nevertheless. It just tasted too good. He suddenly wanted to bawl his eyes out for some reason. It was like the melting “ice-cream” also melted whatever imaginary walls he had had in his mind. He brushed away one lonely tear stuck to his cheek in a light motion with his forearm, leaving a dark streak of red on his white sleeve. Well, shucks.

“Now your hoodie is ruined,” Minjun pointed out looking at the messy sleeve, his left elbow on the table, head resting on his hand.

“Adds up to the overall deco,” Wooyoung shrugged, pulling at the front of his favourite hoodie that was now slashed through and dappled with blotches of blood. Only half of it was his.

“Your first real fight and you’ve survived,” Minjun praised smiling. “Congrats.”

“Thanks,” Wooyoung gulped the cold slush, suddenly feeling slightly better; the heaviness in his muscles was fading away. “Now what?” he turned to look at the elder. The youngest wasn’t that dumb not to realize this unfortunate encounter would have certain consequences.

“Well,” Minjun folded his arms across his chest and leaned back into the chair, considering their possibilities. “That depends on what they want. It was reckless of Khun to arrange this meeting all by himself. He overestimated his strength. Natural or not, you can’t put up a fight when the age gap is that big… Unless you’re as talented as Chansung, that is,” he smirked.

Wooyoung listened closely, munching on his ice-cream. Half of the glass was empty already.

“Khun told me to scram, but I couldn’t budge…” he sighed. “I should’ve just left the moment I felt the old guy coming…”

“Don’t feel guilty about it, you’re not a timid fawn that flees at the first sight of danger,” Minjun leaned in. “You’re a predator. Can you imagine a tiger, a wolf… or even a dog running away once it senses something wrong? Of course not, a predator stays to make sure that something IS wrong, which…” Minjun shrugged leaning back into the chair again. “Usually leads to its downfall, but curiosity killed the cat, didn’t it? It’s in our nature. And that’s that.”

Wooyoung stared at his glass, pulling his lips into a thin line until his cheeks puffed up. He frowned slightly, mulling over Minjun’s words.

“Either way, I should’ve known what it was all about,” he finally scooped another spoonful of red ice and stuffed it into his mouth. “The vibe coming from that guy was no joke.”

“His scent should’ve been enough to repel you,” Minjun chuckled. Wooyoung ran his tongue over his teeth savouring the taste of shaved blood ice topped with the B-type syrup.

“No, actually,” he figured. “The scent came after. The sensation of his presence was worse.”

“What do you mean,” Minjun frowned slightly, his elbow on the chair’s backrest, his right forefinger playing with his upper lip. “The sensation comes after the scent.”

“No, it…” Wooyoung looked at the elder surprised. “First, I felt there was someone else, and then the smell hit me… isn’t it how it’s supposed to be? It’s always been like that for me…”

“Actually, the usual progression is from scent to sensation,” Minjun looked thoughtful as he eyed the youngling up and down. “But if you can feel the presence before the scent hits you… that’s some radar you’ve got there. You need to develop it further, a sense sharper than your nose is very handy. Unusual, but… definitely handy.”

“What a freak show…” Wooyoung grumbled putting the spoon aside. He grabbed the glass and downed it in one shot. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed everything in one big gulp.

“If this is a freak show, you’re the freak of freaks,” Minjun noted, and Wooyoung almost choked.

“Please!” the youngling put the glass down. There was still this distinctive heaviness at the back of his head, but he felt considerably better. Only tired. And absolutely worn-out.

“What?” Minjun snickered, his eyes shrinking into adorable crescents. “Aren’t you? Well, consider this,” he opened his palm. “You’re a natural,” he bent his thumb. “You survive mostly on animal blood,” his forefinger went down. “You have high resistance to quick-silver, your sixth sense is stronger than your sense of smell, AND,” Minjun wiggled his pinkie before bending too. “You don’t have an imprint.”

“Is that why they’re after me?” Wooyoung asked in a low voice.

“What do you mean?” Minjun leaned forward. Wooyoung sighed before answering.

“They wanted to finish Khun off, but that guy… he obviously gave them orders to take me alive.”

“Could be… Hector is old enough to distinguish your condition from your scent, and Khun was turned for that purpose only… so they might have set their eyes on you instead…” Minjun released a low growl. “Which means they are after us.”

“They don’t know I’m staying with you,” Wooyoung shook his head.

“Eh?” Minjun blinked.

“Khun feigned he didn’t know me.”

“Well… that was very perceptive of Khun,” Minjun nodded. “But we still need to be careful. It would be better if you stayed indoors for a month or so… I know it’s inconvenient but…”

“I understand,” Wooyoung nodded. “I wouldn’t want to put you all in danger.”

“And it would be better if you got yourself an imprint,” Minjun pressed in a kind manner like a supportive older brother rather than a strict father. Wooyoung wanted to hide under the table.

“Is it really that important?” he almost whined. “I just… I don’t know, judging from the way it works, it feels like a burden to me.”

“It is a burden in a way,” Minjun nodded. “I agree, especially until you learn to control it and push it to the back of your head when it is not necessary, but it is also what makes you… you. And it binds people together. Sure, you can live without it, but…” Minjun pursed his lips thinking of the best way to explain it to a 21st century vampire. “Think of it… as a vaccine or an antivirus program.”

“Computer can function properly without an antivirus program,” Wooyoung repudiated wearing a blank face expression. “If you catch something nasty, just reinstall your OS and off you go again, totally unharmed.”

“But can you reinstall your brain?” Minjun countered raising his eyebrows. “And…” he looked down. “I’ve never told you two this but… Junho’s all set, because he has Chansung’s imprint and… I don’t know how you like it here with us, but if someone from a direct line claims you, there’s nothing much I will be able to do.”

“Direct line?” Wooyoung frowned. “What is that?”

Minjun got up from his seat and moved towards the arc leading out of the kitchen, his left hand in his jeans pocket, his right hand rubbing the back of his neck. He sighed.

“The main reason we were able to place you two under our custody was not because Taec and Chansung witnessed you two being turned or because it happened in our lands… the woman who turned you… she had my brother’s imprint.”

“What?” Wooyoung blinked feeling slightly disoriented.

“I’m not completely sure about this, but even Taec felt the trace of my own initial imprint in her, so I think she was a direct descendent of my older brother. Therefore, as the next coven in line, we had the right to claim you two,” Minjun looked back at him. He didn’t even notice how his language had gone back to his original tones, and Wooyoung found some of the words he uttered hard to grasp because they were clearly not from this or the last century. They were a lot older.

“So…” the youngest stood up, forcing his tired brain to work. He shoved his hands into his sweater pockets and shuffled towards the eldest. “Does that mean that…” he switched into his dialect as well. “According to this whole vampire whatchamacallit you’re kinda like… my great uncle or something?”

“Pretty much, yes,” Minjun nodded, relieved that Wooyoung was taking it in a lot easier than one would’ve expected.

“What about your brother, then?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen him for centuries, he just left… one day,” Minjun looked down frowning slightly. Nothing escaped Wooyoung’s sharp eyes, even though they were half-hidden behind his messy hair.

“So, if one day he appears on our doorstep, and I still don’t have this imprint thing, he will claim me even if I don’t want to?” he asked.

“He might as well…” Minjun nodded.

“He can’t do that,” Wooyoung frowned pursing his lips.

“I’m afraid he can,” Minjun looked up, giving him an apologetic smile. “According to our law, a new-born needs to have a tutor or a custodian if the master is not present, and the person eligible is the next in line… so, I don’t know… if you wish to stay for good… I suggest getting an imprint. You’re lucky, there are quite a few options,” he grinned.

Wooyoung still looked doubtful. He’d paid attention during Taec’s lectures well enough to know he would be officially considered a “new-born” until he turned 3 years old.

He liked where he was now, and he didn’t want to be torn away from this coven. Keeping in mind that this mysterious older brother has been absent for centuries, he might as well be absent for 2 more years and a half. But then again, with the crazy vampire community, one could hardly take his chances.

“I’ll think about it,” he said eventually.

Minjun gave him a tender smile and walked closer. He reached out and pulled at the front of Wooyoung’s hoodie, where it was slashed in half at his chest. Pulling the material apart, he checked the deep gash across Wooyoung’s chest, to see it closing little by little. The kid was really very resistant to quicksilver if just one glass of blood could do that. It hadn’t even been fresh blood in the first place.

“While you’re at it,” Minjun glanced at him. “Grab another bag of B positive. There’s no other way around the quicksilver infection but to wait until it wears off, and you heal faster if you take HUMAN blood,” he stressed.

“Yes, hyung,” Wooyoung bowed slightly, earning him another smile from Minjun and two pats on his cheek.

“I need to check on Yena and see what she’s up to,” he said. “Think you can take it from here?”

“Sure,” Wooyoung nodded.

“Get some sleep,” Minjun walked away after patting the youngling on his shoulder. “Now, where’s that cat, I need bait, hey kitty kitty kitty…” even though he tried to sound alluring, his voice turned out to be rather intimidating.

“I don’t think that’s gonna work on the cat!” Wooyoung laughed, his voice bubbling with dialectal tones.

“Shut up!” Minjun called back, diving behind the armchair in the living room with the intention to find Bruno and bring him to Yena.

“Is that a way you talk to your elders?” a low voice boomed in a rich Busan dialect, and Wooyoung blinked surprised to see Taecyeon enter the kitchen. Noticing how shocked Wooyoung looked despite his usual blank expression, Taec smirked, mentally patting himself on the back for being able to decipher Jang Wooyoung moods.

“What?” he slowly walked past him and collapsed into the chair Minjun had sat on previously. “I’m originally from Busan, didn’t you know?” he raised his eyebrows glancing at Wooyoung with his deep-set perky cat-like eyes.

“It’s not that…” Wooyoung shook his head.

He wasn’t surprised to hear Taec speak in the Gyeongsang dialect. For what he cared, Taecyeon might’ve been fluent in Aztec. That wouldn’t have been surprising.

What shocked him though was how pale the tall vampire looked. Even before he had left for the upstairs, Taec’s tan skin appeared to be considerably paler than the usual, but now he looked almost ashen grey. He sat there with his right sleeve rolled up to his biceps, his elbow bent and his left hand pressing at the inner side of it, as if to stop it from bleeding. There were dark lines of blood on his forearm, some still glistening in the dim kitchen.

Without saying another word, Wooyoung shuffled towards Taecyeon and pulled his left hand away from his elbow. Taecyeon didn’t say anything either. There was a deep wound where his veins came the closest to the skin surface, and judging from the look on his face, one could guess he had lost around one third of his blood.

Wooyoung’s face was impossible to read. It was blanker beyond blank, and Taec felt slightly unnerved. He didn’t like it when he couldn’t see through things, he liked to be one step ahead of everything.

“Was… Khun injured that much?” Wooyoung asked eventually, his voice low and relatively emotionless.

“His arm…” Taec looked thoughtful. “It will take a while to heal, but rather than that… I guess he was just hungry,” he offered Wooyoung a toothy grin, but seeing that the youngest was not about to return it, Taec looked down flustered. “It’s not a big deal…” he mumbled.

“Ok Taecyeon!” the name came out loaded with so much of reproach that Taec fought the urge to flinch.

“What?” he pouted.

“See?” Wooyoung pointed at his messy elbow. “This is why I don’t want this imprint thing. It makes you lose your mind.”

“But it’s what makes us into… us,” Taec countered softly. Wooyoung rolled his eyes.

“I’ve heard that already,” and he turned to walk away, but Taec snatched at his wrist with his healthy hand. Wooyoung stopped, looking at one point on the opposite wall. Taecyeon lowered his head, staring at the floor.

“Thank you,” his voice was so low Wooyoung thought it was more like he felt it vibrate through his body rather than heard it. He took a look over his shoulder.

“For what?”

“For saving him.”

“I may look like it, but I’m not a jerk,” freeing himself from Taec’s grasp, Wooyoung shuffled towards the fridge, feeling the heaviness in his legs come back. Minjun had been right – he needed more blood to heal faster, and he could make truce with his conscience for a few blood bags.

“Why are you mad?” Taecyeon asked curiously with the familiar bubbliness in his voice, although he looked and felt close to dying (again).

“I’m not mad,” Wooyoung closed the fridge with a bang, after having pulled out 4 packs of donor blood – one B positive and three AB positive. Taec pulled a weary but tender smile.

“Yes, you are.”

“No, I’m not,” Wooyoung put the bags on the table and opened the drawer next to the stove, to pull out a few straws.

“Wooyoung,” there was a soft urgency in the way he uttered the name.

Wooyoung sighed and closed the drawer, two straws in his right hand.

“It’s just that…” he turned around and leaned onto the table, his slashed hoodie gaping open. “Everyone’s really keen on me getting the imprint, but… when I see how it affects people…” he looked up to meet Taec’s eyes. “You’re the most rational of them all, but even you can’t help it when the “ _imprint calls_ ”,” he drew imaginary quotes with his fingers.

“Look at you,” Wooyoung pointed at Taec’s overall deplorable state, “You look almost worse than I do, and I’ve taken two shots of quicksilver, thank you very much,” he turned away again and moved over to the cupboard next to the fridge.

Wooyoung knew everything about Yena’s secret stashes, so he opened the cupboard that was usually used for bowls and plates and, after a little bit of deep rummaging while standing on his tiptoes, Wooyoung pulled out a small brown packet. It had been opened already, so he just pulled out one dark brown bar from it, and stuffed the packet back into its “hiding” place again.

“You’ll understand someday,” he heard Taec say. “I can do something about it, I CAN tuck it at the very back of my head…” Wooyoung turned to see Taec looking very thoughtful as he stared at one point on the table top. “But I don’t want to.”

“Y’all are just crazy,” the youngling declared putting the bar and the straw onto three packets of AB positive.

“Wooyoung.”

“What?” he looked up slightly annoyed from what he was doing: he was about the rip the corner of the B positive bag to slip the straw in. Taec smiled.

“Go upstairs, take a shower, and get some sleep,” he said. “You’ll feel a lot better in the evening.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Wooyoung mumbled taking a careful sip through the straw.

“Sorry about the hoodie though,” Taec’s eyes travelled across the ruined garment.

“Yeah well,” Wooyoung shrugged. “What can you do…” and he pushed the blood bags with the bar and straw on top towards Taecyeon. “Eat well, I’m off.”

“Huh?” Taec stared at the food supplement bar on top of the bags. “This is…”

“Yeah yeah, your calf blood sugar desert,” Wooyoung walked around the table, the straw stuck to the right corner of his lips. “Just don’t tell Yena I know where she’s hiding things.”

Taec grinned like he’s just been admitted to the archives of the British Library. He grabbed the bar immediately and ripped the package off without any further ado.

“Sweet dreams,” he wished the youngling in advance. Wooyoung clicked his tongue and tore the desert away from Taec’s hands.

“Get to the main course first, you idiot,” he pointed at the bags. “What hyung are you? You’re supposed to set an example.”

Taec pouted, but took the first bag on top nevertheless, ripped the corner open and stuck the straw inside. He sipped the blood obediently, focusing his beady eyes at Wooyoung, and he almost looked like a middle-school boy, who came back home after having a fight on a recess, and he simply needed to be tended to. Wooyoung left the kitchen shaking his head, thinking this coven was weirder than weird.

He slowly walked up the stairs, sipping the blood and putting his mind at ease little by little, as he managed to vanquish the thoughts that had been troubling him. His body was healing faster. Taecyeon was right: he really needed to take a shower and then get some sleep. For the first time in his short vampire life, Wooyoung actually felt tired. It was a new and surprisingly rewarding experience; being tired made him feel alive.

He passed by Yena’s door, where he heard her talking to Minjun about something. He walked on because his room was at the very end of the corridor, but right when he was about to pass by the mahogany door in between Junho and Yena’s rooms, he stopped.

He wasn’t exactly sure why, to be honest. Staring at the expensive wood, he wondered what it was in the first place that made him clash with this arrogant bastard from the very beginning. Nothing, probably. He was just irked by the way the Thai held himself and how apparently, he considered everyone to be below him, save for Chansung, which… Wooyoung thought to be a slightly sick attachment. But what he was to delve into the intricate psyche of the vampire mind.

Sipping his bag of B positive, he stood there and thought until eventually, he made a decision. Not even bothering to knock, Wooyoung reached out and opened the door.

 

 

He looked around her room. There were loads of papers strewn across the floor, most of them lying around her bed, a few heavy books and bound papers obviously pushed under it on purpose. He didn’t need to take a closer look to know what these were for.

Yena was supposed to graduate this year, but it didn’t look like she had pushed any further with her thesis and research. Minjun knew it wasn’t his business, but he sometimes felt alarmed by her lack of interest towards her studies and normal human life in general. It pained him to see humans throw away the best privilege they had – the sometimes-mediocre ordinary life was the best thing one could ever ask for. The worst was that he knew Yena had a strong and relatively fatalistic personality, so she wouldn’t succumb to anyone’s persuasion, even if that someone was a millennium old vampire. Sometimes Minjun figured that if vampires had been born naturally, they would’ve been something like Yena. She was just that intense.

She sat at her desk labelling the blood samples, her gloved hands smeared in blotches of dark red. Her long blonde hair was tied up in a bun, and she had her glasses on because her astigmatic eyes were too tired to focus on anything properly. She had a small portable icebox in front of her, and she would place a sample after sample there once she was done marking them.

“I’ve got something for you,” Minjun said to draw her attention to him; although he was sure she had noticed him come.

Yena was just too busy to spare him a glance. However, now she looked up from her work to see the old vampire stand right next to her bed, Bruno on his left arm and a sample of dark red vampire blood with greyish tinges to it in his right hand. Yena’s stomach almost did a back-tumble in excitement. She reached out her hand.

“Leave the cat be, and gimme Jang Wooyoung’s blood here.”

Minjun grinned setting Bruno on Yena’s bed. The cat showed no signs of objection. He just curled up on his master’s pillow, deciding to have a little nap before the noon. Minjun walked closer and gave Yena the sample. She eyed it with so much greed in her eyes one could’ve thought she would’ve devoured the sample if she could’ve.

“It looked exactly the same when we infected his sample with quicksilver during our tests,” she said taking her permanent marker and writing numbers and symbols on it that made sense only to her.

“Any idea why he’s relatively resistant to quicksilver?” Minjun asked leaning onto her desk with his right hip. Yena shrugged.

“Mostly because he doesn’t have an imprint,” she said placing the sample in front of her and giving it a thoughtful stare. “Although there might be some other factors that I can’t check in this home-made lab. Junho was right though, if I could isolate the elements in Wooyoung’s blood that are resistant to quicksilver, I could make something akin to a vaccine or a temporary repellent.”

“Then you should hurry up because I told him to get an imprint…” Minjun folded his arms across his chest. “Although a quicksilver vaccine is a tempting idea, I agree…”

“If he allows me to drain him a little bit once he recovers from the attack,” Yena leaned back into her chair. “He can have all the imprints in the world, I don’t care. As long as I have enough of his pure blood to work on.”

Minjun chuckled. He couldn’t understand why but sometimes, he liked Yena’s attitude towards them: like the vampires were mere toys or test subjects for her to play with. Perhaps he was masochistic to some extent.

“By the way, what about that blood sample from the North I brought back some time ago,” he remembered he was supposed to report to Amber about it. “Any news?”

Yena sighed and leaned forward, reaching out to open the icebox. She pulled out the sample she had been working on for days prior to the Khun incident.

“How’s that vampire now?” she asked, looking at the sample.

“From what I’ve been told, he’s feeling fine, as if nothing’s happened at all. Ever since I made him feed, it’s like his hemophobia vanished for good.”

“Did you make him feed on a vampire with the same imprint?”

“Yes,” Minjun nodded. “It was the safest bet.”

“Thought so,” Yena looked up showing him the sample. “To put it simply, it’s a virus that disrupts the link between the imprint and the vampire’s DNA. Since the imprint is so intermingled with the DNA that it’s almost impossible to single it out, the virus destroys the overall blood cell balance and what not. Not being able to feed is not a psychological problem, had you made him feed on something else, he would have barfed everything out. Seemingly, the only cure from this is blood with the same imprint.”

“So…” Minjun mulled over it in a speed of light. “Vampires with unique imprints and no siblings or masters, if they catch it…”

“They’re screwed,” Yena nodded and put the narrow test tube on her desktop, next to Jang Wooyoung’s sample. “Unless I work deeper into it, but I can’t at the moment…”

“Do you need Junho?”

“I need a lab,” Yena released an exasperated sigh. “Keeping in mind Khun’s current state, I suggest Junho’s staying away from the house for a time being. Khun will be very hungry, and Junho is a nice kid… did you see how much blood Taec lost?” her voice suddenly gained a tint of something that sounded like agitation. “He could barely walk out of the room… No, the imprint is too strong, and Junho is still too young for this kind of thing. Plus, I don’t want him to know I’m working on his blood, too,” the last words were barely audible.

“Too?” Minjun raised his eyebrows slightly concerned. Yena pulled another sample from the box and put it next to the other two.

“These three,” she pointed at the test tubes. “Junho, virus, Wooyoung… I need a decent lab for those…”

“You can use the lab at Khun’s company,” Minjun suggested. Yena frowned as if he’d just offered her a litre of fresh lemon juice.

“I hate it,” she countered. “They always stare at me like I’m some kind of freak, and they always want to know what I’m doing.”

“Well,” Minjun gave her a warm smile. “They just can’t figure out how such a young and amazing woman like you can be so good at what you do. They’re jealous.”

“Whatever,” she totally ignored the praise. “If you want me to figure things out, get me a lab.”

Minjun focused his charcoal eyes directly on her, and Yena didn’t even blink. Once again, he wondered where she got so much inner-strength from.

“There’s a cellar in this house, right?” he asked.

“This is house is probably as old as Khun,” Yena scoffed. “Of course, there’s a cellar.”

“Alright then,” Minjun nodded. “I’ll get you a lab…” he then backtracked on what she had said before. “Why do you need to work on Junho’s blood, anyway?” he frowned. Yena grumbled grabbing the tube.

“Because it’s different and I can’t bloody figure out why!” she whined. “I can SEE that it’s different. But all the basic tests don’t show anything! I don’t get it, and it’s driving me nuts,” she drummed her fingertips onto the desktop, her nails making a distinct hollow sound as they came in contact with the wooden surface.

Minjun knew what she was talking about: Yena could spend days analysing and researching something until she knew exactly what the problem was. She would never stop until she figured out everything herself. She was not the type to ask questions, she liked to find answers herself.

There was a knock on the door and after a second, Chansung walked in looking a lot better than before. He raised his hand in greeting with a short “yo.” The wound on his elbow was barely visible by now. Just like the eldest of the coven, the first thing he noticed were the papers and the textbooks strewn across the floor. Minjun figured Chansung should’ve been aghast at such treatment of literature, but he got another idea.

“Hey, Yena says Junho’s blood has changed, but her tests can’t find anything,” he said and Chansung perked up immediately. “Mind checking?” Minjun pointed with his chin at the samples on the desktop.

“Checking?” Yena asked confused, as Chansung, still mute and calm as the embodiment of zen itself, walked over to her desk and took Junho’s sample without even inquiring, which glassware was which. He could also tell just by looking. Then he unplugged the tube.

“Did you forget we’ve got the best nose in the northern hemisphere?” Minjun grinned seeing Yena’s nonplussed expression as Chansung took a deep sniff of Junho’s blood and closed his eyes, angling his head to the left. His eyebrows twitched, and Yena momentarily forgot about all the tests, eyeing his jaw-line and those closed baby-calf eyes, and… what not. Chansung was simply excruciatingly pleasing to look at.

“I don’t know about that best nose in the northern hemisphere thing,” he uttered eventually, opening his eyes and plugging the sample again, and then giving it back to Yena. “But you’re right,” he said looking her straight in the eye. “It is different.”

“Then how come it doesn’t show in tests,” she took the tube and stared at it, shaking it with frustration.

“The difference is not in the composition,” Chansung stopped her from joggling the blood and put the test tube back onto the desktop, next to the remaining two. “It’s just that Minjun’s initial imprint is now more prominent in Junho…”

“Eh?” Minjun blinked. “How come?”

“I do not know,” Chansung shook his head because seriously, deciphering chemical links was not in his job description. Minjun turned to Yena.

“I’ll get you a lab,” he promised.

“Great,” she beamed, putting the samples back into the icebox.

It was cloudy outside, but she could still tell it was getting close to noon, and she figured she should eat something, or at least check the state her kitchen was in. She figured it hadn’t been cleaned since Khun and Wooyoung had crashed into it all messy and bloody, and what not. However, her hand froze on the icebox, when she heard Chansung say:

“How’s your thesis coming along?” he wasn’t looking at her though, he was focused on the heaps of papers on the floor. Yena stood up so fast it woke up Bruno, who had been snoozing on her pillow.

“Mrrreow?” he said slightly disoriented.

“I need to check up on Taec,” she said and walked out of her room in a hurry, Bruno following right after her. “You two see yourselves out!” was the last thing she said before the door closed with a muted bang.

Minjun and Chansung blinked meeting each other’s eye. They felt somewhat uncomfortable in Yena’s room without Yena herself, so they quickly walked out and closed the door decently after them. Standing in the empty corridor, Chansung shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned against the wall.

“She really hates us asking about her thesis if she used Taec out of all people as an excuse to get away from it…” he thought out loud. “Now what?” then he asked.

“We’re laying low,” Minjun said. “And Junho needs to stay out for a while; you think you can call him? I’m surprised he still hasn’t come barging in…”

“I told him to stay put until we figure things out, just in case,” Chansung pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“What an obedient kid,” Minjun noted. Chansung nodded as he found Junho’s number in his recently made contact list and tapped the “Call” option.

 

 

He was sitting on a bed with a thin sheet across his legs, staring at his phone balancing on his knees, like it was possible to make it ring with the power of mind. The nagging and nauseating feeling in the pit of his stomach had gone already, and Junho figured that the worst was over, but he was still worried. He was mad at himself that he felt relieved when Chansung texted him saying he should not go back for the time being because it wasn’t safe. In a sense, he wanted to have a pretext to stay, but his whole being, the blood call was screeching him to go. It took a considerable power of will to make him stay where he was.

Tired of waiting for the call, Junho leaned over the edge of the bed and grabbed his jacket that was lying around on the floor. He unzipped the inner pocket and pulled out two narrow test tubes full of dark blood samples.

Looking at the samples in his hands, he suddenly wondered how come he was so good at telling human and vampire samples apart. He couldn’t explain it. He just knew it. And Junho was also thankful he didn’t need any fridge or a freezer to store the samples at, because this apartment had its central heating turned off. In late February, with no heating, the temperature inside was almost close to the one in a decent fridge. But with the only tenants being none the other than vampires, it wasn’t much of a problem.

He looked left to see her sleep peacefully on her stomach, with her arms hugging the pillow, her cheek squished into it, and the sheets pulled up to her waist. The curtains were drawn, it was cloudy outside, and the overall dimly lit atmosphere was supposed to make even the biggest lark sleepy, but Junho wasn’t planning on blacking out for the day. At least not until he would receive a call or a text message that everything was alright. Even if it was close to midday already.

He focused on the samples again, thinking what he should start with. Naturally, he needed a lab or at least something similar to it. And he obviously couldn’t do anything at Yena’s place, because it would’ve downright suicidal.

He wondered if he could use one of those labs that Khun had in his company. Junho wasn’t a fan of favouritism, but he figured there was always time when one’s status in a society (however distorted it might be) should become handy.

It finally rang. Junho picked it up before it even began vibrating.

“Hello?” his voice came out lower than the usual for some reason.

“Everything’s fine, but we need to lay low for a time being,” Chansung went straight to the point. “Do you need a place to stay, or can you be where you’re at? With Khun as he is, it would be better if you stayed out. If you came back, he might eat you, and you wouldn’t mind…”

Junho pulled the phone away from his ear nonplussed to check whether he was hallucinating, but the caller ID told him it was indeed Chansung calling.

“Umm…” he answered eloquently.

“I know how it sounds,” Chansung said softer. “But it’s for the best, so… about your place to stay…”

“I have where to stay,” Junho didn’t let Chansung finish his sentence. He didn’t know exactly why he was so sure of what he said, but he had no doubt about where he would be staying for the next few days. Everything fell into its right place. If only… “And… About that emergency card that Khun gave me?”

“The… credit card?” Chansung sounded like he couldn’t care less about all the money in the world.

“Yes,” Junho nodded even though he knew Chansung couldn’t see him. “Can I use it?”

“Sure, if you need it. I will call you again, when I need you and Wooyoung at the warehouse,” there was a hint of excitement in his voice.

“Me and Wooyoung?” Junho frowned a little bit, slightly distracted by the rustling sheets. Sunye had woken up and she was successfully making her way onto his naked left shoulder. Her chin rested right above his collarbone as she listened to the conversation.

“Yes, I need to teach you two at least the basics.”

“Of what?” Junho put the samples into his lap so he could take Sunye’s hand in his.

“Self-defence,” Chansung explained. “It hasn’t changed much in our world over the centuries, and you must’ve had a bit of taekwondo in your junior high or whatever you call it, but you definitely need to be briefed on certain principles.”

“Alright, then… I’ll be waiting for your call.”

“Eat healthy and stay safe, I’ll keep in touch,” and Chansung hung up. Junho pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it for a while, his face showing he was deep in thought.

“Master?” Sunye asked playing with his fingers.

“Mm…” Junho shook his head. “Hyung,” he put the phone right onto the nightstand next to the bed, and took the blood samples into his free hand, studying them closely again. Sunye focused on them too, her cheek on his shoulder.

“Problems?” she asked.

“I hope not,” he sounded thoughtful. “I’ll be staying here for a while if that’s ok with you,” he announced, his eyes still on the test tubes.

“Are you going to pay rent?” she humoured him. Junho chuckled turning to look at her.

“Do you want me to?” he raised his eyebrows. Sunye smiled and nuzzled into the bend of his neck, eventually nibbling at the back of his ear.

“I think we can arrange something,” she mumbled, satisfied to feel a wave of shivers run down his spine. His mind, however, did not give in to the fogginess that shrouded his body. Junho still had to clear up a point or two.

“I might also need to revamp this place,” he declared still focused on the blood samples. “I hope you don’t mind.”

Sunye looked at the test tubes in his hand and then back at him, finally realizing there was a lot more to this youngling than met the eye.

“Are you a kind of a mad scientist or something?” she asked half-joking half-serious. Junho grinned, and it made the brightest sunshine grow pale in comparison to his smile.

“I can be one if you want me to.”

 

 

Chansung stared at his phone looking slightly miffed. He wasn’t too sure, but then again, he didn’t believe he could be wrong.

“What is it,” Minjun asked noticing Chansung’s uncertainty.

“I think…” he began not that sure of himself. “I think Junho was with a woman.”

“Well then,” Minjun shrugged. “That would explain the change in his blood.”

Chansung shook his head.

“No, the change would’ve been bigger… Ah,” he rubbed the back of his head. “I should’ve told him, it’s not a big deal, but… what if she’s someone dangerous, he’s just a new-born, and…”

“Hey…” Chansung stood still when Minjun’s hand landed on his shoulder, instantly calming him down. “I would rather them kids make mistakes as long as they are not lethal, and learn from them, than barrage them from experiencing anything at all,” he grinned. “And speaking of women, I need you to take it from here, because I’m meeting Amber in the evening, and I need to prepare.”

“Kim Minjun,” Chansung wiggled his eyebrows grinning like grade-schooler. Minjun snorted, slapping him hard on his back with a loud _smack_.

“Nothing of the kind, you pervert,” he laughed. “Get laid.”

“I can’t,” Chansung pouted. “Emma’s in Korea.”

Minjun rolled his eyes.

“Emma has issues,” he pointed at Chansung this time being serious. “And only the person responsible for that can fix it. If they’re dead, we need to find her a good vampire therapist. And don’t think I would fall for this,” Minjun clicked his tongue. “You’d never take Emma to bed; everyone in this coven knows it. She’s too precious for you.”

“She’s a great kisser though,” Chansung shrugged matter-of-factly. Minjun stared. If it had been a manga, there would’ve been dots and suspension points drawn above his head.

“I don’t wanna know,” he shook his head when his mobile phone pinged with a new text message. Minjun pulled it out and read it fast, his face moulding into something cold and indescribable. Chansung frowned.

“What is it?” he asked alarmed. Without even uttering a word, Minjun showed him his touch-screen display. It read:

_Hi. This is Emma. Hope Khun is better. I met Jaejoong today. He said you need to meet him in person. It’s about Jay Park._

Chansung looked up to see that Minjun clearly meant serious business. He realized he might be left responsible for the entire coven for indefinite period of time.

“So…” Chansung began, swallowing the scarce supply of his saliva. “I guess that means today’s meeting with Lady Amber gets cancelled.”

“I guess so,” Minjun glanced at his phone again, before slipping it back into his pocket. He was about to say something else, when they heard a faint _Chansung_ from behind the reddish-brown door. Khun was calling. Wait a sec…

“Khun?” Chansung frowned looking at the door.

“Isn’t he supposed to be asleep?” Minjun blinked. There was another muted _Chansung_ coming from the room. It really sounded like Khun was calling him.

“Nah, I heard him talking to Wooyoung on my way to Yena’s…” Chansung trailed off. He met Minjun’s eyes.

And they both hurried towards the mahogany door.

 

\--------------------------------------------

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	14. #14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🔷 Prince Jihoon is being shady.  
> 🔷 Wooyoung and Khun's heart to heart.  
> 🔷 A whiff of plum blossoms.  
> 🔷 Junho the sexy scientist.  
> 🔷 Taecyeon and Bobby on a mission.

_Seoul, present day_

 

He leaned against the glass wall and looked at the people down below. He could see them, but they couldn’t see him. The thing he liked about this club the most was that it never got too crowded. And it couldn’t have: no matter how much money or influence one had, one couldn’t enter unless one knew the right people. Or vampires, to be more exact.

Aside from that, it was a club just like any other club out there. People came to drink, dance, and have fun, while the other visitors, who were not able to digest alcohol that well, ended up doing business or simply looking for a source of hot and fresh blood for a night. The only problem though was that basically everyone knew everybody in this place, and it was hard to convince a human familiar to become your juice box just like that. Not to mention that the authorities were always watching.

Folding his arms across his chest, he cast a glance to his right, watching the people down below with the corner of his eye. A person of his stature probably should’ve dressed in a more formal manner, but just BECAUSE he was a person of that kind of stature, he could afford to bypass the dress-code from time to time.

Standing in simple jeans and a dark blue sweater with a wide neckline, he looked more like a person relaxing at home after a long day at work rather than a vampire royal on duty. He suddenly wondered, how predetermined everything was in the vampire world. Everything was integrally bound to your age and whose blood you had flowing (or at standstill) in your veins.

One might’ve been nothing in their human life, but hitting a particular age bar in the nocturnal community always meant you were something. That is, of course, if you were resilient enough to reach that age. At two thousand and fifty-seven years old (his human and vampire age combined) he was a terribly impressive nocturnal.

Vampires seldom reached two thousand. Of course, there were those older than that, but they were so scarce you could actually count them on your fingers and your toes. Reaching a thousand was already considered to be a feat. The main reason for that being growing rivalry, grudge, and mistrust towards you among the vampire community.

That is why a lot of the oldies chose to remain nomadic: dealing with the authorities younger than you was considered to be a rather pesky nuisance by some. And of course, there were also those who grew bored of the night-to-night existence after a few millennia, and they simply chose to go out in the sun. He didn’t need to be reminded of that. Those blue flames were engraved in the deepest parts of his brain, and they still floated vividly in his memory as if it all happened yesterday.

A very weak sigh escaped his chest and he lowered his head, black hair falling all over his eyes, covering bits of his exposed nape and shoulders. There were times he found it hard to fake breathing, especially when he didn’t need to talk. And he had to admit that he would also feel weary from time to time, but he was still very far from walking out in the sun.

There was a distinct voice at the back of his mind, telling him he hasn’t done enough yet. Two thousand years and he still was nowhere near to what he was supposed to do on this earth. It was rather annoying. He felt like he was missing something.

He opened his eyes when he heard the door to the wide room being opened. A familiar scent hit his nostrils and he realized his duties for the night were over. But just out of the habit, he looked up to the left and asked:

“Anyone else?”

“Nope, that was the last one,” Joon literally hopped into the room after he had closed the door and sprawled all over the black sofa set at the far glass wall of the room.

It was a rather simple dark room that resembled a lofty office because that’s what it was supposed to be. Dark desk set in the middle of it, with a black leather office chair behind it. Then two black armchairs in front of the desk, and that sofa further from the other pieces of furniture. Even though some of the vampires were unsupportable show-offs, His Royal Highness Prince Taejo certainly meant business.

“Good, I’ll be seeing JJ then,” he left his brooding spot in front of the wall-high window and slowly walked towards his desk, pulling a sleek black touch-screen smartphone out of his jeans pocket. They’ve been there for more than two decades already, but only recently had he got used to these things called mobile phones.

“Ah!” Joon raised his hand from where he was lying on the sofa. “Jaejoong went into hiding, if anything.”

Jihoon stopped in the middle of his gait and turned his head right at his assistant and probably the most precious younger “brother.”

“Come again?”

 “He uh… misplaced an old-ass islander who had some serious issues, and the community wanted to be done with him, but umm… let’s say the geezer had some dangerous guys under his wing so, now they’re searching all over Honshu for a human who managed to ice that bastard.”

“Considering he’s not even in his 30s yet, that boy probably has more enemies than a regular 400-year-old… The Japanese must be pissed,” Jihoon smirked.

“Oh, believe me, they certainly are,” Joon returned an equally mischievous smile. “But if they come over the strait…”

“They’ll be in our jurisdiction, and we will make sure that Jaejoong is safe,” the prince emphasized putting his phone back into his pocket.

“Sure thing,” Joon nodded, chilling on the sofa. The only thing missing in the overall picture was a cowboy hat and a straw in between his lips.

“Alright then,” Jihoon yawned stretching his arms above his head. He was old enough to go for months without a decent feed, but sometimes it made him feel rather stiff. He needed some fresh blood tonight. “I’ll be leaving for the Northern Territories for a few days, as far as I remember the next important meeting is scheduled only for Monday so, I’m leaving it all up to you, Joon,” and he turned to leave the room.

“Hyung,” Joon’s voiced stopped him. The younger vampire sat up and lowered his feet onto the floor, seriously eyeing the wide back of his sovereign. “I rescheduled your meeting with Emma of Northumberland for tomorrow. An envoy from the regent of Scotland, remember? Daegu coven? Minjun’s wedding? International relationship and all that jazz?”

“Reschedule it for Tuesday,” the elder remarked over his shoulder and walked towards the door.

“Hyung,” this time there was not a single tinge of the usual playfulness in Joon’s voice. He was dead-serious. “You can’t avoid her forever.”

Jihoon turned around slowly and stared Joon directly in his cat-like eyes.

“I’m not quite sure what you mean,” he said calmly.

“Of course,” he smirked. “Just, keep in mind that she’s like… Chansung’s best friend. Like the BEST OF BEST OF BESTEST FRIEND,” his emphasis was obviously overdone. “I haven’t seen two vampires being so much on the same wavelength before. They’re so cuddly it’s sometimes nauseating,” Joon shivered overdramatically. Jihoon narrowed his sharp eyes.

“Reschedule the meeting for next Tuesday,” he cut off without a hint of emotion in his low, slightly raspy voice, and left the room in silence, like a royal ghost he was.

“ _Yeh, hyung-nim_ ,” Joon flopped onto the sofa in full-length again, bringing the outer side of his hand to his eyes. No matter how old one would get, some things never changed.

 

 

_Edinburgh, present day_

 

When he closed the door, the room went absolutely dark. He still could see every single contour and silhouette perfectly fine, but the high-quality blinds, shutters, and black curtains made it certain that not a single batch of natural light could get inside.

Sipping the blood through the straw, he cautiously looked around with his dark eyes darting to the left and to the right. There was a patch of silver at the far left and he knew that the only source of silver in this room could’ve been none the other but its master’s head. So, the boy shuffled carefully across the room, around the huge bed covered in black satin sheets, and then stopped at the left side, in front of two chairs set right next to the bed. After a short consideration, he chose to sit on the one closer to the bed and to the night stand.

His skin still ached a little bit with every touch to a surface that was harder than a feather, so it took some time before he settled relatively comfortably on a wooden chair. Then he pulled the chair closer to the bed, leaned forward putting his elbows onto his thighs, and took the straw back into his mouth, holding the bag in his battered right hand. He finally noticed there were bruises on his hand. Wooyoung had no idea that vampires could get bruises. This quicksilver infection must’ve been the real deal.

And judging from the way Khun looked, Wooyoung realized he had been lucky. Keeping in mind that Khun had drained a pint of blood from Chansung and Taec each, he still seemed to be in a pretty bad shape.

The Thai was dosing off, lying on his back, his silver head resting comfortably on a soft pillow. The black sheets were pulled up to his ribs, enveloping his body as a glove. He was dressed in a white tank-top and his pale arms were placed on top of his sheets. There was a big white pad under the left arm, and Wooyoung could distinguish a very strong antibacterial scent coming from it.

He didn’t get why it was soaked in some kind of solution. Maybe it was supposed to make it heal faster or to keep the bacteria away. As far as Wooyoung knew, vampires were not susceptive to the same germs as humans, but whatever floated the Prince’s boat really. And if that stinky thing was about to make it heal faster, Wooyoung had no problem with it because honestly, Nichkhun’s left forearm or what was left of it looked terrible.

The magnesium injection basically blasted Khun’s tissues apart; there was almost nothing but bone left in between his hand and his elbow. Wooyoung could see a few sinews and parts of tissues here and there, but technically, that part of his arm had to grow anew.

Astoundingly enough, bits and pieces were healing already. Wooyoung would've sworn he could hear blood vessels and muscles growing back, but the process was so slow that Wooyoung could tell it would take more than a week to be complete.

That must’ve sucked, he thought sipping the blood until eventually the bag got almost empty and whenever he took a sip, a distinctive slurping sound came when the air collided with the half empty and slightly sticky straw. Funny enough, it reminded of the sound one got when his cola bottle was almost empty and one wanted to sip it until the very last drop, so Wooyoung took another deep sip and off the sound rang again.

“You do realize this is excruciatingly annoying, don’t you?” he heard a slightly sleepy voice and looked up to see Khun open his eyes and stare at the ceiling.

Wooyoung sipped again, step by step slurping the last drops of blood from the bag, making the flow of air through the straw terribly loud, and when he was done, he put the bag with the straw on Khun’s nightstand.

“I know,” he said eventually, focusing on the Thai again. Khun closed his eyes not even bothering to hide how exhausted he felt.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“How long will it take to heal?” the youngling countered it with a question of his own. Khun was genuinely peeved, but then he realized he would’ve been a pile of flaking dust if it weren’t for this annoying bastard, so he figured he should humour him at least for now.

“Around two weeks or so,” he said in an absolutely emotionless voice.

“Sucks,” Jang Wooyoung noted very accurately.

His remark was followed by rustling sheets and he thought that

                   a) Khun was about to punch him even though he could hardly move at the moment, or

                   b) Khun was about to turn his back on him, but that would’ve also caused him some issues.

Instead he saw the elder vampire raise his right arm and flex his right hand a few times until the youngling fully focused on it.

“Two hundred years ago,” he began. “I had it cut off in a fight. I was too immersed into what I was doing to worry about what happened to it… it fell into a torrential river; Chansung went down and got it for me…” the look in his eyes was distant, like he was talking about irrelevant stock exchange on the market. “When we were done, Minjun attached it back with five stitches so that it wouldn’t fall off. Tissues and bones connected naturally on their own, and three weeks later, it was like nothing had happened at all.”

“What if Chansung hadn’t pulled it out of the river?” Wooyoung asked listening closely.

“It would’ve taken around ten years to get it back to normal,” Khun would’ve shrugged if he could’ve. “Bones grow at a very slow rate. Just like the vampire hair,” he cast a quick glance at Wooyoung. “Say, if you cut your hair now, it would take around five years to grow it back to the current length.”

“Point taken…” Wooyoung looked away.

What followed was an awkward silence, when they both held their breaths in the dark room because breathing meant taking in scents they didn’t like too much. The antiseptics made Wooyoung a bit nauseous, and Khun couldn’t stand the blood and the general mess reeking off the youngling. The biggest reason Khun felt annoyed, however (and he hated admitting it), was that he failed. It had been a long night, he had had a plan, and he had failed. In front of this new-born. On top of that, if it weren’t for this baby, he would’ve been busted.

Khun just wanted to get some sleep and then think over it, not to mention that his arm was killing him because no human painkillers could work on a vampire, and Yena was not keen on developing vampire-compatible anaesthetics.

“Why are you here?” Khun asked not being too enthusiastic about reading between the lines and deciphering the hovering atmosphere, as one would have expected from a full-blooded Korean. Well screw it, he wasn’t a Korean in the first place.

“Just…” Wooyoung stared at the maimed arm again, as his heavy lids slowly fell upon his sharp eyes. It was getting hard to stay awake. “What would make it heal faster?” he asked hoping it would make his brain kick back into action.

“More blood,” Khun answered matter-of-factly and Wooyoung pulled away from him, sitting up straight in the chair. Khun clicked his tongue rolling his eyes. “Not your blood, you moron. I don’t feed on vampires who don’t share the same imprint. Plus, with all the quicksilver, you probably taste terrible at the moment,” Wooyoung frowned and leaned in again, secretly relieved that Junho was out of the house or else.

Khun didn’t stop though, talking pulled his thoughts away from the pain in his arm.

“Speaking of which, when are you getting yours? You need to get an imprint and quick,” he turned to look Wooyoung directly in the eye and he was actually startled to see how close the youngling was – his chin was close to resting on the bedding. “You look like a zombie,” Khun noted. “You should…” he struggled to say it. “Sleep… or something.”

“Why is everyone so obsessed with the idea of me getting an imprint?” Wooyoung puffed his cheeks as he eventually rested his chin on his hand, as his elbow propped deep onto his knee.

“It’s not an obsession,” Khun frowned slightly. “It’s a must. Plus, my maker probably knows already there’s another imprint-less new-born around, so if you don’t want to become a piece in his collection, get. Yourself. An. Imprint,” he almost spat through his clenched teeth emphasizing every single word.

“Either way, I’m not getting it from you,” Wooyoung shook his head, which was getting cloudier with every second that passed. “I don’t want to get morbidly attached to you, like you are to Chansung… no offence, hyung, but that’s sick,” the kid deadpanned.

Khun wanted to point out that Taec had his imprint, and the geek sure wasn’t morbidly attached to him, also Junho had Chansung’s imprint and their relationship seemed different, which suggested that every single imprint was unique and special, but that way he would have indirectly confirmed he kind of WAS morbidly attached to Chansung. Which he wasn’t. Well, not exactly. At least not in the way everyone thought. Or something.

“Wow, what a loss,” Nichkhun drawled instead. “Look at me crying. And dying.”

“You sure look close to dying, hyung, but you’re not crying.”

Khun almost flinched. Here it came for the second time and now he knew why it felt so weird.

“Say it again.”

“What, hyung?” Wooyoung blinked confused. Khun could’ve sworn he got the gooseflesh all over.

“You calling me ‘hyung’ is so awkward, I don’t even…”

“I can skip that in English, but we use Korean, how else should I call you?” Wooyoung raised his eyebrows. Khun frowned as if he was given a cup of tainted blood.

“Whatever,” he cut off swallowing the saliva that still tasted like quicksilver and looking away.

“Is that why you don’t call Chansung “hyung?” You find the term too awkward?” Wooyoung asked.

“That’s different,” Khun slowly exhaled through his nose. He wanted the kid to disappear, he was making him nervous. And agitated. “Taec doesn’t overuse the term either.”

“Ok Taecyeon is a freak and we both know it, now you and Chansung…”

“What we have is different,” Khun insisted, wishing he could hide under his blanket, but that was physically impossible. Meanwhile, Wooyoung continued ruffling his feathers.

“Oh? Different from the whole imprint-is-what-makes-us-into-us thing?” Wooyoung tried to keep his eyes open, but it was very hard. His mouth talked on its own. “Are you his lover or something?”

“What?” Khun looked taken aback and horrified, he actually turned to look at the boy. “No!” he frowned.

“Oh, come on,” Wooyoung leaned further putting his elbows onto the bed and almost giving Khun a figurative heart attack as his dirty sleeves collided with black satin. “Are you trying to say that with this whole overprotective attitude, you’ve never ever done anything? Not even a kiss? I mean, I don’t really care about your preferences, it might not look like it, but I’m very open-minded and…”

“I didn’t say we haven’t kissed, I’m just saying we’re not lovers,” Khun elaborated. He had no idea why he was talking about it with this annoying bastard. On the other hand, it felt refreshing to finally get it off his shoulders. And heart.

“Aha!!” Wooyoung pointed his finger at him, half of his upper body on the bed already. Gee, the bed was actually very comfortable. Khun sighed, closing his eyes.

“Look, it is very different in the vampire world,” he was trying to be patient. “Especially if you have an imprint. Gender doesn’t play a big role for us, it’s just how the things go here…” the Thai was getting agitated, he hated feeling unbalanced, and this kid made him lose his cool, hence he hated the kid. “But as far as intimate relationship is concerned… For the love of… Chansung doesn’t even take Emma to bed, there’s no way he would settle with…!” he stopped abruptly, and there was a strange mix of emotions in his voice, so powerful it made zombie Wooyoung blink.

“Emma? Who’s that?”

“Nobody,” Khun looked away. Wooyoung chuckled. Khun blinked once. It was probably the first time he heard the kid laugh. That was… refreshing.

“You sound jealous,” and the refreshing feeling was gone.

“Am not,” Khun cut off.

“Are too! Who is she?”

“Oh, for the love of…” Khun turned to glare daggers at Jang Wooyoung. “You’re so much like her. Just as annoying. Just go off, get married, and have annoying babies together… oh wait, you can’t have babies because you’re both vampires, HA!” he spat out and then turned his head away from the youngling again, staring at the door.

Wooyoung burst into a fit of giggles. It was a silent laugh that made his entire stomach ache, because chuckling like required a tremendous use of abdominal muscles, but he didn’t care.

“Oh my god, you are so jealous, it’s actually hilarious,” Wooyoung snickered. “Keep your head on, hyung, I was simply poking at you.”

Khun didn’t answer. He was staring at his mahogany door, wishing Wooyoung would disappear from his room. There was this strange aftertaste in this conversation. It felt like Wooyoung ripped a tile in a carefully arrange floor and let a few bugs out, not even bothering to smooth over the damaged surface. At the same time, it also felt like the floor had been in a need of some serious revamp for some time now, so perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing to have an argument or two with this boy. After all, he did save his life. And he hasn’t even thanked him yet. Khun was an arrogant bastard, but not an absolute jerk.

He closed his eyes willing the vexed part of his mood away and sighed, making the sound that came out of his chest seem more like a hushed whisper rather than full-fledged words.

“Thank you,” he said. “For everything.”

Silence. Khun opened his eyes. Well, the kid could’ve at least said something. Like, you’re welcome. Or, hyung, don’t be ridiculous. Or, hyung, have you hit your head? But there was nothing. Khun frowned slightly. He opened his mouth rounding his lips, trying to get used to the thought of saying it out loud. It felt so foreign to him.

“Woo… Wooyoung?” no answer. “Wooyoung?” he turned his head left to look at him and regretted it at once. “Ah, man…” he pouted. It needed to be fixed immediately, but he was in no shape to do so. “Chansung..?” he was sure Chansung of all people would hear him.

Jang Wooyoung was dead asleep, his upper body sprawled across Khun’s bed, his cheek stuck to the black satin.

“Chansung?!” Khun’s sheets were most definitely ruined.

 

 

_Edo Japan, 1760s_

 

Cherry blossoms swayed in the light breeze at night along the river, as they slowly made their way down the narrow path towards their residence in the mountains. The night was full of sweet fragrance, drenched in a silver moonlight so bright that even a human eye could’ve discerned the colours around them. It was such an idyllic image with light and airy petals hovering all around them, and they moved on without a sound not because they didn’t want to get noticed, but more like because they felt bad about disrupting the scenery unfolding in front of them.

Chansung pushed Khun to go first, and he watched him walk silently and stealthily with a grace of a giant predator, although there was a tinge of uncertainty in the way he walked, probably because he felt Chansung’s eyes boring right at the back of his head.

Trimming his dark blue yukata, the young dark-haired Thai vampire sped up, and Chansung smiled following after him, his hand on the hilt of his silver-alloy katana just in case. It has been a few days since their bloody encounter with Khun’s maker and his lot, and things seemed to be coming back to normal. Minjun was busy securing links with the locals, which would surely benefit Prince Taejo in the future. Chansung’s wounds have healed completely and Nichkhun’s blood balance was perfectly restored. The fully fed natural vampire was close to bouncing down the path, but Chansung’s presence stopped him from being reckless. Or, to be more exact, Nichkhun was bound to give Chansung the best impression he could, although that was not really necessary.

Chansung smiled again, reading Khun like an open book, and took a deep breath of the fresh air. He was sure they were going to leave this land in a month or two. The rich scent of cherry blossoms mixed with a tinge of something else in his mind, and Chansung opened his eyes, stopping and looking around surprised. Khun halted immediately and looked back, wondering what it was that made Chansung stop.

“Is something wrong?” he asked alarmed.

“No…” Chansung said eyeing every single cherry tree around him, as white petals slowly floated down onto him, a few of them getting stuck into his long black hair. “I was just wondering… why they would plant plum and cherry trees together…”

“Plum trees?” Khun frowned, his senses spiking up immediately. “There are no plum trees here. Just cherries…”

“I guess so…” the elder mulled over it slightly surprised, too lost in his own world, until eventually it hit him: _plum_ s… “Khun,” he turned to where he last saw the young one standing, but he was gone already. Chansung got slightly worried. “Khun?!”

Less than half a li ahead, where the trees where the thickest, he heard and then saw a few branches break and two silhouettes crash onto the ground. Khun had obviously made use of his extraordinary flying skills and swooped down on whoever was hiding over there like a hawk on its prey in high speed. There was a loud “thud” when they hit the earth, and the cherry petals scattered around them like silvery snowflakes in the dazzling moonlight.

Khun was sure a dangerous young hawk, but he was not able to maintain his advantage, when his prey quickly got the hang of the situation. Khun didn’t even have time to figure what and how it happened, when he suddenly was lying on his back, his wrists locked in a tight grip in one small hand, a knee rammed in his chest and another small hand gripping at his neck.

“ _You’re good_ ,” he saw a flash of blue eyes, but his surprise lasted only for a tiny nano-second. More than being surprised by those looks, he felt devastated that she managed to immobilize him completely.

“ _Obviously not good enough if I lost to you_ ,” he spat out struggling to get away, but her hold was too tight and too strong. It felt a bit uneasy the way she was studying him with these freaky blue eyes.

“Foreign. Natural. Feisty, and swooping down on me without a warning,” she leaned closer to him until there was less than an inch between the tips of their noses. A few stray brown strands fell on her eyes, although the rest of her long hair was tied up in a pony tail. “And so young,” she pointed out. “So where are you from, Mr. stranger,” the tip of her nose faintly brushed against his cheek as she leaned closer and sniffed, taking in his scent.

Khun felt her tense when her brain caught something, and then he almost yelped when the female basically buried her nose in the bend between his neck and shoulder, and she took such a deep breath, one could’ve thought she wanted to strip him off his scent completely. She then pulled back blinking, looking puzzled and surprised.

“You’re his,” she said her eyebrows rising. Khun noticed they were darker than her hair.

“His?” he frowned.

“Indeed,” came another voice, and they both turned to look at the source, only to see Chansung standing in between two cherry trees, arms folded across his chest and a mischievous smirk playing on his lips.

What dumbfounded Khun the most, was how quickly her face expression changed from cautious and puzzled to an absolutely delighted one. She grinned from ear to ear and released him immediately, getting up and running towards Chansung.

“Hwang Chansung!” she exclaimed jumping onto him and, to Khun’s horror, Chansung welcomed her with opened arms. He caught her and hugged her tight, laughing and turning around as her legs wrapped so tight around him, one could think it would be impossible to peel her off him.

They exchanged a few words in a language Khun couldn’t understand. He knew it was Korean, but it was a kind of Korean that was outdated and not used anymore. He remembered Minjun and Chansung talk like that at times, when they wanted to keep something from him so that he wouldn’t worry about things.

Khun’s heart jumped in his chest unexpectedly, when Chansung looked that foreigner in the face and the young one clearly thought they were about to kiss, but they just grinned at each other and he put her down. His arm remained on her shoulder and hers was wrapped tight around his waist. Chansung glanced at Khun beaming like he was the happiest person on earth, and his grip on her shouldered tightened.

“Khun,” he said. “This is Emma. She’s my best friend!”

The young one got up from the ground, brushing twigs and grass away from his yukata. Somehow, he had the feeling he wouldn’t like that woman, not by a single bit.

 

 

_Edinburgh, present day_

 

She looked through the window just to make sure the sun was really tucked behind the clouds. The coast was clear (or absolutely gloomy in this case), and she walked out of the apartment and then down the stairs in the old Victorian building, up to the front porch, where a man from the express delivery service was waiting for someone to open the door. There was a binder in his hands and a pen behind his ear. He was clearly utterly amused and curious as to who was this person, who ordered so many boxes with the word FRAGILE stamped all over them in big font.

The delivery van was right there behind him, parked very close to the pavement, as it barely managed to squeeze in between two resident cars. But it managed after all. Now the other young man, who happened to arrive together with the driver, was unloading the boxes from the van, his face strained and slightly flushed, as the weight of the boxes was no joke.

The delivery manager was about to ring that doorbell for the third time when the door opened and he saw a young Asian girl appear on the doorstep. She had raven black hair and looked like she has never seen sun in her entire life. She had a heart-shaped face, and a slightly skinny build, but that fragile constitution gave her a kind of a charm, and the man caught himself admiring her before he remembered what he was there for.

“Good morning,” he greeted, scanning the purchase and delivery receipt in his file as she mumbled a rather shy “good morning” back at him. “Ms. Lee, I presume?”

“Oh…” she batted her thick eye-lashes. “Just a second please,” she spoke in a polished Boston accent as she turned back into the hall and looked up, eyeing her apartment door. She knew perfectly well he would hear her. “Junho! Your equipment arrived!”

“Be right there!” came a muted reply in slightly accented English. Sunye focused on the man again, giving him an apologetic smile.

“It’s Mr. Lee, but I can sign for him,” she reached out her snow-white hands, clearly indicating the man to give her the invoice and the pen.

Sunye put down her intricate sign just when Junho appeared out of nowhere and burst outside, eyeing all the boxes being loaded down onto the pavement. Calculating the boxes swiftly and then mentally checking the number with the one he had in mind when he had ordered everything, Junho broke into a satisfied smile.

“Oh great,” he grinned. “Finally.”

Sunye just smirked giving the man his papers and the pen back. It’s been more than a week since Junho turned part of her living-room in a make-shift lab. Most of the time, he just spent reading and researching because he admitted he didn’t know much about the subject, and if he were to find anything, he needed a considerable theoretical background first. Next, most of the equipment he needed was supposed to be ordered and delivered or even shipped to the UK from abroad.

Up till now, he was managing things with simple laboratory glassware, microscope, and other trivial things one could find at a chemist’s or some other more sophisticated lab shop in Edinburgh. She didn’t know where he got all that money to buy this insanely expensive equipment, but she didn’t see him rob a bank or mug people in the streets, so she figured he must’ve had a sponsor, or a very generous master.

Watching the men empty the van, Sunye suddenly frowned a little bit. Come to think of it, she didn’t know much about the boy. Just that he was still a new-born, Korean (well, obviously), had a very manly and persevering personality, and was terribly satisfying in bed. Oh, and his blood tasted insanely good. But that, most probably, should not have been the main criteria for knowing a person, and she figured that if she were to stay with this boy at least for a while (which she definitely intended to do), she should get to know him better. After all, a good-looking scientist new-born was not someone you meet every single decade.

“Do you want us to help you bring this upstairs?” she heard the delivery man say, which made her come back to her senses.

“No, I think we’re perfectly fine with lugging it all up ourselves,” Sunye leaned onto the doorframe with her arms folded across her chest. The man gave her a very doubtful look and then focused on Junho, who was stacking the boxes one onto the other in threes, as if they were simple over-sized toy blocks. Even though the fact that he managed to stack them together was not impressive in itself, the delivery manager wondered how this lean young man would be able to carry everything upstairs. He didn’t look as emaciated as the girl, but he was also pale and could’ve used a combination of strong supplements. And a little bit of sunlight.

“Are you sure?” the manager’s assistant asked lifting his cap and scratching his fair hair. Sunye eyed him up and down when he put the cap back on, ramming his fists into his sides. She nodded pulling a confident smile.

“Yes, I am, I appreciate the concern though,” the younger man thought she winked at him, but it was so fast the next second he convinced himself he was only seeing things. After all, didn’t one usually see what one wanted to see?

“Yeah, thanks a lot,” Junho stood up straight and it seemed like he hesitated for a second before reaching out and shaking the hands of both men. The manager was almost surprised that the customer’s hand was pleasantly lukewarm.

“We’ll take it from here,” Sunye moved away from the doorstep indicating that it was time for the men to go. The men said their goodbyes, wished them luck with whatever they were doing, got into the car, and drove away thinking these two people were a little bit freaky. Especially as Junho and Sunye stood perfectly still until the van disappeared behind the corner.

When the car was gone, they silently turned to the boxes. There were 5 of them, exactly of the same size, and three boxes stacked one atop of the other were already up to Junho’s chest. Even so, he bent down and lifted them up like they weighed less than a kilo, balancing them perfectly without even taking a glance at the very top box. He turned to look at Sunye who took the remaining two boxes and moved towards the door.

“You didn’t have to spike up your circulation, it’s not healthy,” she said opening the door and safely sliding in with the two boxes balancing on her left hand. She spared him a glance as Junho effortlessly trailed behind her. “There are people with very cold hands, it’s not uncommon.”

“I didn’t want to freak the man out,” Junho said closing the door behind him with his leg and following her slim figure up the stairs to her apartment. “And you didn’t have to eye that guy like you wanted to eat him. You’ve just had some.”

“Vampire blood – candy,” Sunye cast him a glance over her shoulder while climbing up the stairs. “Human blood – meat. Clear enough for you? And I did want to eat him. I guess I will sometime around, he smelled nice.”

“Whatever you say,” Junho mumbled under his breath. He still had a bit of a hard time talking about humans in this kind of manner. It was different from what Khun had taught him, but he knew he shouldn’t question the way other vampires lived or thought. From what he gathered; the ways of his coven were slightly unorthodox.

“I would invite you to come with me, but judging from how often you feed, I wouldn’t have anything left for myself, so…” she stuck her tongue out at him, while opening the door to her apartment and walking in.

“I feed frequently because I don’t go for a total drain unless I have means to give them a proper burial afterwards,” Junho explained entering the apartment and heading straight to the living room, navigating his way through a narrow hall and then emerging into a big room with high ceiling, drenched in perpetual twilight as the windows had dark grey curtains.

He placed the boxes next to a big oak writing desk at the far end of the room, further from the windows. The desk was littered with papers and pens. There was a laptop and a microscope on it, soon to be changed with a lot powerful one. There were very small samples of blood spread onto thin rectangular glass plates. These were checked already; the most general tests that Junho could think of were done and over with.

He eyed a small fridge next to the desk, where he stored his test samples. He still had enough of blood to go around with, and he was already thinking of what he should do next, now that he had all the equipment he needed. He wasn’t too confident about what he was doing, but he was curious and inquisitive. He had got so engrossed in his research lately, that he has been going on for days without sleep. As he was still a new-born, it had a toll on him, so Junho figured he could crash for a day before continuing.

“Come again?” he heard her say as she walked into the room while he stretched. Junho blinked and looked at Sunye to see her place the remaining boxes next to the other three. He was not quite sure what she was talking about, and perhaps his confusion reflected well on his face because Sunye elaborated further. “You don’t drain them?” she sounded incredulous.

“Oh well…” Junho mused for a second, thinking of the best way to put it. “It’s how I was raised, I guess,” he shrugged, taking off his shirt and heading towards the bedroom that was right next to the living-room, with just a door in the wall in between the two rooms. He guessed that a while ago, it used to be two separate bedrooms, joined by nothing but that single door. “I’m going to crash for a day,” he announced glancing over his naked shoulder. She looked very thoughtful, a small crease forming in between her eyebrows and she bit on her lip thinking hard. His statement must’ve startled her. “Do you want some candy before I black out?” he asked casually.

Sunye snapped out of her musings and gave him a wide grin.

 

***

 

She sometimes wondered why vampires just HAD to be allergic to sunlight. The more time she spent with them, the more she got convinced that vampirism was a virus or a genetic condition rather than a curse from a witch or some kind of a mystic, or fantastic condition. After all, if it had been mythical and fantastic, shouldn’t she have met elves, werewolves, or at least a pixie already? Instead, she’s been dealing only with the living dead.

Bobby stopped in the middle of her gait. Wait, didn’t Taec say that the living dead were zombies a few months ago? She angled her head staring at a freshly polished pavement. Did that mean zombies existed too? Well, that wasn’t much of a reassuring thought really.

She pulled at the wide strap of her leather bag on her shoulder and walked on, heading for the bus stop. She hated that leather bag. Bobby preferred something knitted and colourful instead of this dead and absolutely boring brown leather bag, but her mother insisted on taking this to work.

Her internship was over already, but they kept her, allowing her to work part-time. As it wasn’t Khun’s decision to keep her, Bobby somehow felt at ease. As ridiculous as it might sound, staying at the company because of Khun would’ve made her feel like she had used her connections to stay there. She would’ve hated that.

Speaking the devil, Khun had been absent for more than a week now. And she wasn’t even allowed to come to Yena’s for a visit. The only thing they told her was that it had been a serious attack and he needed time to heal, and the less she knew the safer she was. Bobby hated being left out, but she heard from Brittany and Keira that a few vampires they knew had been killed off, and she thought that perhaps it was a kind of a vampire hunting season, or someone simply had run out of luck. Bobby figured this was definitely one of these days when one had to do as one was told, so she just buckled her coat up to her chin and kept on walking through this chilly late February evening.

March was right behind the corner and she hoped the weather would get better. As much as it could in this part of the country. The girl snuffled and stomped forward.

Now, where was she? Oh right. Allergy to sunlight.

Reaching the bus stop, she sat down on the bench and stared at the tips of her boots. Why couldn’t they be allergic to peanuts, she thought. Or salt. Not that she hated or was scared of darkness, she just thought it was highly unfair that the only time vampires could come out during the day was when it was cloudy. And cloudy most of the time consequently meant rainy. And Bobby hated rain. She hated how the humidity could reach you and creep behind your clothes even if you had an umbrella and wore rain boots and a coat. Perhaps it was a slightly childish reason, but everyone was entitled to their own personal kinks.

She was thinking of everything that happened at the company today, when she felt it coming. She had no idea how on earth it was possible to tell it apart from any other movement, but the presence was there, and a cold shiver ran down her spine as she didn’t hear a single footstep coming her way. Bobby reacted faster than the rational part of her brain could tell her to look around for any other person nearby.

Silver dagger slipped into her hand from where she had been hiding it inside her sleeve, and once her fingers gripped the handle firmly, she turned around and stabbed without even taking an aim because she knew he was there.

It was a very strange déjà vu. The very same bus stop, similar time of the day, and a vampire closing in on her. Except that this time, instead of her mum’s silver fork, she was armed with something more serious.

He was tall and she heard him grunt when the blade stuck into his flesh. She didn’t care to see whether she got his arm or abdomen, time was essence. Straining her arm muscles, she pulled the dagger out as fast as she could, flipped it around, drabbling drops of his blood on her face in process, and pressed the handle. A wooden staked popped up from the handle and she was about to stuck it into his chest, when she felt him grab her wrist.

Too slow, she thought barely able to catch her breath as her heart was basically stuck in her throat. She didn’t think she was done for. Even if she were, Bobby was simply too angry with herself that she couldn’t follow Chansung’s instructions through and through. Ready to face her fate, she looked up and hiccoughed.

“The hell was that for?!” she met deep-set familiar eyes topped with thick frowning eyebrows. Those eyebrows usually would wiggle in a very greasy way, but now that was definitely not on the owner’s mind.

“Ok Taecyeon!” Bobby gasped, dropping the dagger and pulling back as he let her go. She clamped her mouth with her hands, looking absolutely shocked and horrified with herself. “I’m so sorry!” she squeaked.

“I realize that I appeared without notice, but that was uncalled for, seriously,” Taecyeon bent down and picked up the dagger, pressing the handle and making the stake disappear inside it. “Here,” he offered Bobby her weapon. She took it, her hands shaking slightly, and hid it inside her bag.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s come over me,” she really sounded and looked apologetic, so even though his forearm hurt like crap, Taec didn’t have a heart to yell at her. After all, he was to blame for it as well.

“My fault,” he raised his healthy hand. “Really should’ve called you before coming, sorry about that,” he frowned again because the gash began closing up and it hurt even more, as silver-inflicted wounds tended to be extremely sensitive.

Finally, Bobby noticed that he was wearing nothing but converse trainers, jeans, and a dark blue shirt that was unbuttoned at the very top. Definitely not your average winter ensemble. She looked around cautiously, but there weren’t too many people on the streets this late. She noticed his dark BMW parked nearby. Bobby blinked focusing on Taec again. Except for Khun, none of them drove unless they were about to go somewhere further away.

“Going somewhere?” she asked cocking one eyebrow. Taec leaned closer pulling a warm smile.

“Yes, and you’re coming with me.”

“How so?” Bobby backed away. These days she was suspicious of everything.

“Because I need a human in case it’s sunny tomorrow, and you’re the safest call.”

“Tomorrow? Is this some kind of an ou-TING~!” she squeaked when Taec wrapped his left arm around her waist, lifted her up, and carried her away from the bus stop towards his car.

She felt like a big bag of groceries hanging under his armpit, with his arm almost painfully ploughing into her stomach, but everything happened so fast that she couldn’t tell when or how she got into the passenger’s seat with her seatbelt fastened properly.

“There we go,” Taec got into the car himself and turned around, rummaging for something in the bag placed on the backseat.

“You do realize this is practically an abduction?” Bobby pursed her lips, realizing she would most definitely miss her classes tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Depending on where they were heading.

“I’ve got the permission from your mum, so no, this is not an abduction,” Taec flashed her a mischievous grin as he sat straight in his seat, casting a glance at the dark green hoodie that he pulled from his bag. He shrugged, should be good enough, he never was too concerned with fashion anyways. Just whatever came the closest to his hand when it was time to dress up.

“My mum?” Bobby blinked. “You called my MUM?!” she couldn’t believe that someone would be so brave (or foolish) as to have a talk with her overpowering mother. Whether he was a vampire or not. Well, save for Khun, but her mother was infatuated with the Thai prince, so he didn’t count.

“Actually,” Taec beamed. “I met her in person, and she was very much so impressed with my absolutely fluent and natural Thai, ufufufufufu~” he snickered with his lean fingers pressed to his lips and his beefy shoulders shaking up and down. Bobby stared with her mouth open, and then she leaned back into her seat, realizing this argument (if one could call it that way), was definitely over.

“Figures,” she scoffed. “Well, fine by me. A few days away from the company could do me some good. They’re pissing me off lately.”

“Why so?” Taecyeon asked draping the hoodie across the steering wheel and unbuttoning his shirt.

“The head manager from human resources is definitely up to something, or she’s just terribly bad at maths…” Bobby grumbled. Taec’s fingers froze at the fifth button from the top. He turned to look at her.

“Meaning?”

“Well… I get to see the general accounts and turnovers because I still need to check over the papers that Khun has to sign, but the official numbers and the numbers I hear from the head manager seldom coincide…” she pursed her lips. “And similar stuff is happening with other departments as well.”

“I get it,” Taec nodded and carried on unbuttoning his shirt. “I’ll check it out once we’re back.”

“You don’t sound too surprised though,” Bobby pointed out as Taecyeon showed no signs of concern. He shrugged again.

“It’s not the first time someone tries to cut off a slice of Khun’s pie. He’s the goose that lays golden eggs and everyone wants a piece of that. We’re used to it,” he shrugged. “But still have to check it out in case someone wanted to take over the company or stuff like that. However, in the meantime,” he wriggled out of his damaged shirt. “We’ve got more important stuff to do.”

Bobby stared. And she had no intention of hiding it. Why should one pretend that one wasn’t looking when the subject in front of you was CREATED to be stared and marvelled at?

Taec didn’t wear a tank-top and he looked… chiselled for the lack of a better word. His skin was a tone darker compared to the rest of them, so he never looked sickly pale. Even though she didn’t find herself drawn to him, she could appreciate a work of art when she encountered one. And she realized that when general patterns of universal beauty were concerned, Taecyeon was probably the most handsome of them all. After Chansung. But where Chansung was a pure Adonis, Taec was more like an edgy Ares… Bobby shook her head, or she should just stop reading that collection of Greek myths before going to sleep.

Taec slowly pulled his wounded arm out of the shredded sleeve and gave it a closer look, throwing the shirt away onto the backseat. Bobby leaned in closer as well. She had struck him right into the inner flesh of his right forearm. The wound had stopped bleeding, but it was still open, edges still glistening with dark blood. It didn’t look too appealing. Bobby hissed.

“Really sorry about that,” she cringed as he pulled a few tissues from the glove compartment and cleaned the blood away.

“Don’t be,” Taec said as his dark shiny eyes ran back and forth his arm, looking for other injuries. “Chansung taught you well.”

“Not well enough,” Bobby pouted. “You caught me.”

Taec looked up startled.

“Well, thank GOD!” he gaped and then burst out laughing seeing that Bobby was obviously joking. She laughed along although she couldn’t take her eyes off his arm. There was something weird about it. Even in the dim light coming from the lampposts in the street, she could see his skin was slightly swollen around his elbow. The swelling was the shape of a crescent and his veins were really prominent there. Bobby frowned confused.

“I thought vampires didn’t have scars…” she mumbled.

“We don’t,” Taec threw the tissues into the cup holder next to his dashboard.

“This one seems new,” Bobby insisted and Taec turned to look at her slightly annoyed by her nosiness, but she watched him with these huge baby eyes, nothing but concern written all over her young face and he couldn’t help but sigh.

“The only thing that leaves a scar is the venom,” he explained. “A certain amount of it. Khun injected only a drop or two, so the swelling will disappear soon. Thank God,” he muttered under his breath.

“Khun fed on you?!” her big eyes turned even rounder. He didn’t think it was possible.

“It’s better to feed on someone with the same imprint when you’re seriously injured. You heal faster then,” he explained again, and then caught himself thinking whether it was wise to use the phrase ‘seriously injured,’ but luckily she didn’t freak out. “Khun probably used the venom as a painkiller… And I thought it didn’t hurt much, because I was just that though… ha ha,” Taec laughed forcefully. “Silly me. Well,” he finally pulled on the hoodie, his dishevelled head popping out half-covered by the hood. “That was sneaky of him, but as long as it disappears, fine by me,” he pushed the hood away and took a look at the rear-view mirror, finger-brushing his messy dark locks.

“You don’t like scars?” Bobby asked curiously. Taec snorted goofily.

“Rather than that…” he glanced at her. “Vampire scars are reserved only for mating. And as much I love him, I certainly don’t want to be branded by him,” there was a strange mixture of emotions reflecting on Bobby’s face and Taec gasped. “Oh, My Gawd! Stop imagining that!!!”

She burst into a fit of giggles.

“Sorry, I tried… but it didn’t work… somehow,” she laughed. “When I think about the six of you… the only one who Khun clicks perfectly with is Chansung.”

Taec blinked.

“I thought you liked Khun…” he was missing something. Bobby smiled.

“I do, but I’m not stupid enough to get in between something that’s been going on for centuries,” she shrugged. Taec clicked his tongue shaking his head.

“Stop reading fics,” he started the car as Bobby rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue.

“Fine, I get it,” she then pointed forwards. “Off we go!!”

Taec blinked again, watching her being all giddy and excited. This girl was sure amusing. Until she finally realized she was not fully informed. Looking slightly nonplussed, Bobby turned to him and asked gingerly:

“Where do we go again?”

Taec grinned switching into the first gear.

“North.”

 

 

 

\----------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know that there are 251 works under the 2PM (Band) tag on AO3?  
> I sometimes forget how small the fandom is nowadays.  
> Anyways, this fic somehow managed to get to the 2nd page of the most kudoed 2PM fics on this site.  
> Thank you! <3
> 
>  
> 
> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Egle0702)  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Egle0702)


	15. #15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🔷 Ahem. Wooyoung's getting impatient.  
> 🔷 Some plot in the shape of Bobby the Explorer.

_Edinburgh_

 

It was weird. Well, he knew that Jang Wooyoung was an oddball, but now that was confirmed scientifically, too.

Junho stared at his two monitors, his chin resting onto his hands, his long and lean fingers drumming onto his cheekbones. He thought he had found it, and well, it was true in a sense, but at the same time, Lee Junho thought it was too easy. Way too easy. There must have been something else behind the fact that Wooyoung found Yena’s blood to be better than all the ice-cream in the world.

So, for the last half an hour he had been sitting and boring his eyes through the new and shiny Samsung monitors. One displayed a highly magnified sample of Jang Wooyoung blood cells. The other had a sample of Yena’s blood.

On the surface, it really seemed to be simple, but something kept on bothering him. Junho didn’t know if one should’ve called it a hunch or an in-born persistence, but he was not about to give up and stop right here, thinking he had found the easiest way out. He had to check it further. Perhaps start from the bottom again, and just do a thorough research on vampire blood in general. Yena would always say that everything was in the blood. As far as vampires were concerned, everything was hiding in the blood. Therefore, Junho decided to go deeper.

He pulled away from the screens and leaned back into the comfy office chair. For that, he would need more samples. He could use his own blood for sure, but he wondered whether that would be enough…

“Is something wrong?” he heard her say and he would’ve expected himself to jump up with surprise, but now he just gave one full turn in his chair, to see her standing on the living-room doorstep, her face healthily flushed.

Junho caught himself thinking that she must’ve fed, but he didn’t linger on that thought, concentrating on his research again. He had no idea how long she had been standing there, watching him.

“You could say that,” he nodded more to himself, when Sunye came closer and leaned onto the backrest of his chair.

“Would you like to share, or is this classified top secret?” there was mischief at the edge of her voice.

Junho smiled and looked up to see her looking straight at him. He did look somewhat like a mad scientist. His dark brown hair was dishevelled, and he was in his chequered pyjama trousers and a white t-shirt. Being a vampire saved him from being greasy, sweaty, pimply, and sporting a three-day shadow. Sunye snorted inwardly imagining it, and somehow thinking that even so, Lee Junho would still be a fine bloke to admire.

“It’s a…” he pointed at the two screens, thinking what he should start with. “My twin has an affinity to this anaemic human blood, and he’s asked me to look into it.”

Sunye was not quite sure which part of the sentence she should catch on to develop a decent conversion. Twin? Anaemic human?

“Isn’t making twins outlawed in most of the communities?” she gaped. “And… forgive me for saying this, but anaemic blood tastes like crap.”

Junho sighed and got up from his chair, taking Sunye by her hand and walking her towards a lonesome sofa in the middle of the room. If he was about to follow his plan, he might as well lay a few of his cards out in the open. It wasn’t much of a secret anyway.

“You know,” he began, when they sat down and Sunye put her hands onto her knees. “How you always ask whether it’s my master when I hang up the phone, and I always say it’s my hyung?” she nodded. “Well, the thing is… I… we don’t have a master,” he licked his lips.

“You’re right, making twins is outlawed, and our maker escaped the scene before we woke. I guess we were lucky the coven that found us decided to take us in, otherwise…” he looked down and shook his head before looking up at her again. “So, I have four older brothers. I’ve imprinted on one, and the rest I’m related to through the imprint chain because they’re all connected. One of them is my imprint brother. And then there’s my twin, who’s still going on without an imprint, which is why he has this weird stuff happening to him all the time,” he shrugged pointing back at the screens.

“Carrying on without an imprint,” Sunye almost gaped. “That is so weird. Does that make him like anaemic blood?

“I honestly have no idea,” Junho leaned back into the sofa. “I don’t know whether his condition is imprint-induced or not, it’s driving me nuts,” he rubbed the back of his head.

“What condition?” Sunye sat closer to him, interested in this boy and his problems. Everything sounded almost exciting.

“He has an abnormally high level of haemoglobin,” Junho declared. “For a vampire.”

“And…” Sunye thought how she should turn it around and make it into a decent question. “Why is it weird for a vampire to have a lot of haemoglobin?”

“It’s a kind of protein found in red blood cells, and it supplies body with oxygen, but…”

“Vampires do not need oxygen,” she finished his sentence.

“Not that much anyway,” Junho rubbed his temple. “So, I don’t understand. Nothing new though, everyone knows he’s a freak, anyway.”

“You don’t sound too comforting,” Sunye chuckled slinging her arms over his nape and putting her head onto his shoulder. Junho was about to construct a very witty reply when his butt vibrated, and he dug his left hand into his pyjama trousers back pocket to fish his phone out.

“Speaking of the devil,” he mumbled looking at the display and answered the call. “Hello?”

“Any news yet?” Wooyoung sounded impatient even though his voice was even and emotionless as usual. Junho was simply already that good at reading his twin’s mood.

“You want the simple or the sophisticated reason?” Junho asked focusing his gaze onto the monitor with Wooyoung blood cells on. They were magnified so many times one could easily see the nucleus, ribosomes, cytoplasm, and what else was there.

“The simple one.”

“You have a lot of red blood cells. A bit too much for a vampire. Yena’s an anaemic, so her level of red blood cells is lower, and the quantity of haemoglobin in her blood is less than normal, so her blood balances yours out.”

“…” there was an eerie silence at the other end. “That… sounds too simple,” Wooyoung said. “I…” he lowered his voice. “I tried other anaemic blood, it tasted like crap.”

“What, you broke into the hospital again?!” Junho’s eyebrows rose up to the middle of his forehead.

“Hey, I needed to know,” the youngest hissed.

“Fine, I see where you’re coming from,” Junho sighed. “And I also agree that it’s too simple, I think there’s more to it than that, but I need more time… it’s not that easy, you know I’m just a beginner…”

“Riiiight, Mr. quantity-of-haemoglobin-is-less-than-normal,” Wooyoung sneered and then Junho heard him sigh. “Listen, I know you can do it, I just need to know how to fix this, I’m tired of sneaking around, Yena might notice something’s wrong…”

“You… you haven’t been avoiding her all this time, have you?” Junho blinked.

“Well, I…”

“Wooyoung, she’s one of the most perceptive people I’ve ever met! She’s gonna know something’s up!” Junho blurted out fast. “She probably suspects something already. Stop avoiding her! It’s not like you’d jump her and eat her just like that, right?”

“…”

“RIGHT?!”

“Gotta go, ok? Thanks, bye!”

“Yah! Jang Wooyoung, you! Ja—”

And the youngest pseudo-member of the coven hung up. Junho stared at his phone unable to believe the conversation he’d just had. Someone had to make Jang Wooyoung feed because all that swine and oxen blood he was consuming surely wasn’t doing him any good.

“Funny dude,” Sunye chuckled into his ear. Junho, definitely appalled, gave his phone one last glance before shoving it back into his pocket.

“You have no idea,” he said.

“So, what’s next?” she pulled away from him and got off the sofa walking towards his desk, strewn with papers and lab equipment.

“I need to work only on vampire blood, and see what the deal is. I have a feeling it’s something about our blood that causes all this… pandemonium.”

Sunye snickered at his use of vocabulary.

“But wouldn’t you need more blood to carry on with extensive research?” she asked, her lean fingers clutching at his office chair. Junho smiled like a big happy cat and put his right foot onto his left knee. If it weren’t for his pyjamas, the posture would’ve looked almost imperial.

“Care to donate?” he asked wiggling his eyebrows.

 

 

_Dornoch_

 

It was way past midnight by the time they reached Dornoch. Bobby vaguely remembered how they crossed over the Dornoch Firth Bridge and then drove further and further, even though she was almost 100% sure they had been supposed to turn right at the first intersection, right after crossing the bridge.

Instead, they headed north and then turned left. Bobby was dozing off and periodically hitting her head into the car’s window, which is why she didn’t miss the road sign saying they have drove into the grounds of Clashmore, which she thought was yet another Highlands village. They were in abundance here.

Taec drove fast, but not with a kind of break-your-neck-and-backbone attitude. The car rolled smoothly and Bobby felt safe even though the speedometer’s arrow was pointing at a digit that was definitely above the general national limit.

“I thought we were going to Dornoch,” she drawled sleepily, secretly checking whether she had saliva dripping down the corner of her mouth. She wasn’t the drooling type, but one could never know. “You said we would be staying at a castle,” she mumbled closing her eyes. “I googled, you know, the Dornoch Castle hotel is downtown…”

“I said we would be staying at a castle,” Taec’s voice filled the car’s salon and for a second, Bobby felt like she had been submerged into a pleasantly warm bubble bath, but she had to drop that thought because she probably would’ve peed herself with delight. Then it definitely would’ve been warm…

“…but I certainly didn’t say anything about the Dornoch Castle,” his voice spiked up her attention right when she wanted to hit herself for the most random and disgusting thoughts.

“Then, where are we…?” she opened her eyes wide and looked around, even though she could see no further than the scope of the BMW’s headlights.

“Up,” he pointed forwards with his chin and for a second, Bobby wanted to kick him because he obviously could see well in pitch darkness, and she thought he was teasing her. But then she strained her eyes and looked further, noticing a bright flash of lights without any difficulty. Bright lights illuminated a majestic building, and Bobby’s jaw dropped.

“Skibo Castle?” she gasped. “We’re staying at the Skibo Castle?”

Taecyeon simply grinned speeding up a little bit, now that the destination was near. Bobby couldn’t believe it. From what she knew, only members of this special club could enter the Skibo Castle. If that weren’t enough, one could become a member of the club only by personal invitation, which meant you had to be stinking rich and know the right people.

She watched as the castle drew closer and closer. With every yard they covered, the building grew bigger, and all the towers and turrets were illuminated with lights coming from every window she could see.

The light was rather dim and it flickered like it was a candle light, or a light coming from a fireplace, but who would illuminate a castle this big with nothing but candle light. That would be absolutely impractical and… Bobby narrowed her eyes.

“Don’t tell me the Skibo Castle is owned by vampires, too,” she mumbled.

“Well, technically…” Taec shrugged.

“Is there anything you guys DON’T own?!” Bobby suddenly exploded frustrated.

Taec simply grinned to himself and after a few minutes, they rolled into the main courtyard of the castle. Bobby was too preoccupied gawking at the enormous building to notice Taec get out of the car.

She felt like she was looking at a celebrity. Bobby was trying to wrap her mind around the fact she was about to spend the night at the Skibo Castle. She had only seen pictures of this thing. From what she knew, Madonna and Guy Ritchie got married in the castle back in the days, and now she was going to see it from the inside with her own eyes. As an ordinary mortal (ha, the irony of the term), she wanted to remember every single detail, but it was almost like watching a concert – too many things to take note of in a blink of an eye.

The passenger’s door opened, and Bobby blinked trying to see through the haze that covered her eyes. They were too bleary. However, she still managed to see Taec’s hand reaching out for her. He was obviously offering his assistance and the look in his dark, deep-set eyes was oozing with a kind of dark chocolate warmth that Bobby grabbed his lukewarm hand and allowed him to pull her out of the car, before she turned into a melting cube of butter on a hot pan.

He held her hand while they climbed up the stone stairs. For a moment there, Taec seemed to be like an older brother she never had (ok, she did, but he had never been that caring… and good-looking), ready to catch her whenever she would fall. And keeping in mind Bobby’s current state, she was bound to collapse any second now. She actually would’ve dropped down if it weren’t for Taec’s arm giving her a steady support. Not to mention that the huge piece of architecture was basically ordering her to take everything in.

Bobby reclined back her head, trying to see the very top of the building and her mouth gaped open, as they both waited for the main front door to be unlocked.

The door opened without a single sound, as if the hinges were made of some futuristic material, but it just showed how well the castle was looked after. Naturally, most of the things were restored, and not everything was original, but one could always dream, now couldn’t she?

There was no one behind the door, and Bobby felt a little bit crept out, but with Taec standing tall right next to her, there was nothing to be afraid of. Then of course, a thought hit her, eagerly reminding her that Ok Taecyeon was one of the younger vampires around… but Bobby shook her head because she couldn’t afford to worry about something like that right now.

The first thing she noticed was that she had been right about the lighting. As crazy as it might have been, there really was not a single light bulb on in the whole castle. The warm and cosy glow was coming from candles and fireplaces, and Bobby thought that whoever was responsible for this, that person must’ve been an expert in fire hazard.

On the other hand, the natural subdued lighting made the castle look more inviting on this late February night. Not to mention that this huge chandelier above their heads set with probably a few dozens of candles was absolutely impressive and breath-taking. To put it simply, she was overwhelmed. It felt like she had taken a time machine ride back to the 19th century and that was not all.

There were stairs. The main staircase was right in front of them as they walked into the hall. It was made of dark oak and covered with a red carpet. The stairs were framed by sophisticated rails with complicated wood carvings that probably had taken hours and hours to make and just as much to maintain, because the tightest corners of these ornaments were bound to collect dust, and the whole place was pristine clean.

There was a wall-tall stained-glass at the end of the staircase and it glowed in warm yellow, red, and royal blue that looked like an image from a fairy-tale. Beauty and the Beast, was the title that came to Bobby’s mind, as the stained glass did resemble the very first few scenes from the animation.

And there was a lady standing at the very top of the stairs. It took Bobby one glance to understand what she was. The girl gripped Taec’s hand tighter as the lady began descending down the stairs. Her long sleeve-less velvet blue gown flowed with every single step she took and her wavy elbow-length hair was darker than the night itself.

When she finally got down to their level, Bobby was surprised to see the lady was actually rather tall. She was only slightly shorter than Yena, which meant the gorgeous vampire stood at 5’8’’ or 5’9’’ at the least.

The skin on her arms, neck, and face looked so smooth she could’ve been a model for baby’s skin lotion. She looked impressive even for a vampire, and when the lady gazed up at Taec with her sparkling emerald green eyes, giving him a warm understanding smile, Bobby realized something.

The lady looked raceless. She obviously hailed from the Highlands, but it almost looked like she was from some other world. Bobby didn’t think she was mixed or anything. She was probably THAT old, and people like her had long ceased walking this earth. She was probably what humans used to be a long long time ago. Bobby wondered how old the lady was because it felt like looking at a Nefertiti, but that was not a polite thing to ask.

Taec lowered his head giving the host a low bow. Bobby followed the suite, almost brushing the floor with her hair.

“My lady,” Taec’s low voice rumbled in the hall. There probably couldn’t have been more incompatible people in the world, as the lady was in an expensive gown and Taec wore nothing but jeans and a hoodie. But a spark flashed between them, and Bobby mumbled quietly under her breath something akin to “birds of feather.” The lady gave him a very slight nod.

“Young master Ok Taecyeon,” her voice sounded like a crystal clean stream in a dark forest – it was soft and not too high. “What a nice surprise,” she eyed him up and down. “I was expecting young master Horvejkul though.”

“Oh,” Taecyeon gave a curt nod again. “I’m afraid my master has encountered certain personal difficulties he could not overcome, and I have arrived in his stead. I sincerely apologize for the change of plans, and I do hope that you will find my presence moderately sufficient at the least.”

“I am sure that your presence will be more than sufficient,” she said without any particular tinge to her voice, and then concentrated on Bobby. If Taec had been a normal specimen of homo sapiens, his hand would have been aching like crazy now from all the squeezing. For the first time in her life, Bobby was genuinely afraid of a vampire.

“What can I do for your little human friend?” she asked without a single trace of morbid interest that a predator would have in its prey. As far as that lady was concerned, Bobby probably was considered no more important than that expensive-looking antique chair in the corner of the hall.

Taec bowed again.

“Lady Kahelin,” he said. “This young girl is here to help me lest it was sunny tomorrow, and as you can see, she can barely stand on her feet. So, if it were possible to put her to sleep…”

“Why of course,” lady Kahelin or whatever her name was smiled. “This way please,” and she turned around on her heel.

Taec pulled Bobby along as he followed the lady up the stairs. She didn’t know how many steps she covered that night because there were stairs, some more stairs, a hall lit in dim candlelight, then stairs again, and another hall – she had lost count. Especially, as she couldn’t take her eyes off the graceful silhouette clad in dark gown walking right in front of them. Bobby had to admit the vampire had a nice derriere. And then she hoped the room or whatever they were taking her wasn’t that far away because this place made her thoughts wander.

Luckily, right when they turned left into a spacy corridor, Lady Kahelin opened the second door on the right and let them in.

“Be my guest,” she said casting a polite yet fleeting glance at Bobby, and then she focused on Taec before he disappeared into the room with his human friend. “I shall be expecting you,” she said and turned away to leave.

“Why of course,” Taec bowed as she walked away and closed the door.

Bobby was too preoccupied with what the vampire had said to go into another bout of jaw-dropping about the room. It was… fantastic to say the least: there was a huge bed with baldachin swimming in white sheets and pillows; there was an old Persian carpet and a couch right in front of the bed, embroidered in very soft pink. The walls were covered in wooden plates, and one certainly could not overlook the antique set of china on an ebony tea table, right in front of that royal armchair, set near the wall at the opposite side from the bed. A tiny voice deep inside her head was urging her to take a picture and tweet it this very instance, but she was still lingering on the final touches of the stingy conversation.

“ _I’ll be expecting you…_ ” she mumbled under her nose, and then turned left to look at Taec.

He was seemingly very interested in the interior. He was currently trying to figure out whether there was any gold in the picture frame that hung on the far-left wall in between two huge windows covered with heavily embroidered curtains.

“Almost sounds like she expects some sugar baby loving…”

She dragged herself further into the room, focusing and aiming for the bed only. However, the sheer silence that hovered in the room caught her attention right when she was about to collapse onto the soft bedding. She turned right to see Taec giving her the look. Well, in fact, his face was quite blank, and that was not the usual thing with this bubbly nerd. Now her jaw really dropped.

“No way,” she gasped.

Taec shrugged and walked along the wall, marvelling at the carvings in the wooden plates that seamlessly connected one with the other, creating an illusion that the wall was actually made of wood.

“Come on!” Bobby threw her arms up, her wavy hair following her every move as she flopped onto the bed, her strength finally leaving her. “Are you really going to do it?”

“If it comes down to it, yes,” he calmly walked to Bobby and kneeled right in front of her. His usual mischievous older brother attitude suddenly changed into a thoughtful older brother demeanour. There was nothing but kindness oozing from his dark eyes, and his voice was soothing like hot chocolate.

“Why?” Bobby asked perplexed, but she didn’t sound too horrified. She just wanted to know, and perhaps she believed there was no way Taec could do something like that out of the blue. “Who… what is she?”

“We met her at the Christmas party at Amber’s,” he explained. “She got interested in Khun’s business because she’s interested in supporting the Highlands, and business is one of the best ways to do it. It is rare that a vampire as old as Lady Kahelin still is a rather active member of society, and it is always a good idea to have an ancient vampire on your side.”

“Is she older than Minjun?”

“Lady Kahelin is older than our prince,” Taec said.

“Ah,” Bobby now fully collapsed onto the bed, falling flat on her back. “Then she won’t harass a minor,” Taec chuckled quietly as she gave him an inspecting eye through the heap of soft wide blanket. “And you wouldn’t do it anyway.”

“Go sleep, Bobby,” Taec stood up, smiling like an understanding parent. “You might have a long day ahead of you tomorrow, if the cloudy weather of the Isles betrays us.”

“Ah, there, you see?” she pointed her finger at him. “You’re already speaking like a person from some Victorian drama,” Bobby then hugged the closest pillow and stared at him with her big chocolate eyes wide open. “This castle does things to you,” she whispered as if revealing a big secret and Taec actually laughed.

“Sleep!” he said.

“Ok… oh wait!” she suddenly remembered something and rummaged through her handbag that she still had slung over her shoulder. “Here!” Bobby reached out offering him something. “I filched it from Yena’s stack the day before, wanted to try it, but… I guess you might need it more, after all the blood loss, and stress, and what not…” at the end of the sentence the volume of her voice got really low, as if she was rather embarrassed, but not because of stealing. She felt awkward about showing that she cared.

A mix of feelings boiled inside him, when Taec saw that Bobby was giving him the notorious calf-blood food supplement. He was grateful as he took the bar and smiled at her, but there was also a good amount of worry behind that smile.

Taecyeon wasn’t too happy that she seemed to be so comfortable around them. It came too natural for her, as if she had seamlessly integrated into their world, and that was not how it was supposed to be. He wasn’t that old of a vampire, but he had already seen enough of similar cases, which in the end, did not have very satisfying outcomes. He just hoped there was still a way for her to go back.

He put the food supplement bar into his hoodie’s pocket and reached out to ruffle her thick hair before leaving the room.

“Sleep,” he said closing the door. Bobby sighed.

“Ok,” she shrugged and plopped onto a big soft pillow, falling asleep at once with her clothes still on.

 

 

 

Pancakes. She loved pancakes. All kinds of pancakes. Simple pancakes, waffle pancakes, pancakes with strawberry jam, crepe pancakes, pancakes with whatever filling you could think of – curd, minced meat, ham and cheese, and…

Bobby sat up in a flash with her hands reaching forwards, as she was in the middle of chasing a plate of crepe toppled with ridiculously delicious cream in her early morning dream. She was trying to catch her breath with her hair all over her face and something suffocating her, until she realized it was the strap of her bag, and she finally took it off.

“Huh…” she sighed, shaking her head. One thing’s certain: her clothes were a mess. She was a mess. And she obviously hadn’t brought any spare ones. Next, when her sensitive eyes began watering, she finally glanced up left and through the screen of her tangled hair, she saw a broad band of sun rays falling onto the carpeted floor through the huge window. As she caught a glimpse of the sky through a pristine clean glass, she could see nothing but blue.

“Huuugh…” Bobby grumbled and plopped back onto the pillow.

A detective mission with Ok Taecyeon was definitely out of question. And she was not that good at finding out stuff on her own. She was inquisitive that was for sure, but Yena would always say “Curiosity killed the cat” (although she probably was usually referring to Bruno rather than Bobby), and Bobby certainly didn’t want to come across as an annoying brat. Though maybe, it was already too late to worry about that.

She gave a defeated sigh staring at the canopy above the bed, her head absolutely empty until the sensation hit her. Bobby blinked and opened her eyes wide, giving it a few more careful sniffs. She sat up in a flash again, her heartbeat picking up speed. It might’ve been just an olfactory hallucination of a very hungry person, but as she looked around through the curtain of her heavy tresses, she noticed something that looked slightly out place.

There was a patch of a cold ivory on the ebony tea table in front of the huge black armchair right in front of the bed at the opposite wall. Bobby gasped tumbling out of the bed and basically dashing to the table on all fours. She gasped, pushing her hair away from her face. Crepes! That patch of ivory was nothing else but an expensive piece of china plate with a few crepes. She took yet another deep breath in. Banana crepes!

Bobby fell down to her knees rummaging through her pockets, until she found an elastic band and tied her thick hair up into a messy ponytail before grabbing a silver fork, stabbing one crepe, and gobbling it down without even bothering to cut it into smaller pieces. She closed her eyes savouring the taste.

Blissfully delicious. Thin and light layer of dough, filled with banana slices and sweet sauce topped with divine type of the best cream you could get in this part of the world. She almost squealed wriggling on the floor with delight, until she realized she would choke to death if she were to continue her strange morning gymnastics. So, Bobby sat up straight and dug into her breakfast properly.

Looking around while munching on her second crepe, she wondered what she should do. The room looked even nicer in daylight, but she wasn’t in a mood for a castle tour. It would’ve felt really weird and almost creepy, especially as she knew there would be sleeping vampires somewhere. Of course, there was always a chance that they wouldn’t be sleeping, but one could never know.

Bobby got up from the floor and walked towards the bed to pull her phone out of her bag. She was not about to go wandering the endless corridors of the medieval castle in the age of modern technologies. There was a missed call from her mom and three unread text messages. Two were from her course-mates asking about homework for the class she would not be attending today, and the final one was from Taec. Sent very early in the morning, obviously before sunrise.

 

_Good morning sunshine~~_   
_It goes without saying that our little mission is postponed, not to mention I could really use some sleep after all the chaos at home hohohoho~ (don’t tell Chansung ><’’)._   
_Anyways, feel free to go out and explore Dornoch if you wish._   
_It’s a few miles east from here. Ask around and stuff._   
_Or just take pretty pictures ^^_   
_And don’t get cold!! ><_   
_See you in the evening._

 

The first thing that came to her mind was “I don’t have any decent clothes.” Well, naturally, because he just grabbed her and took her away without even stopping at her house to get a fresh change of clothes. Honestly.

Going back to the small table, she stabbed her fork into yet another crepe and stared at the wall, thinking what she was supposed to do now. Her eyes travelled across the wooden wall, then armchairs, and clothes, towards the huge window… Wait a second.

She stopped munching and got up again, walking towards an armchair set next to the window. Why of course. There was a set of clean clothes. A full set. Down to Hello Kitty themed socks, bra, and underwear. She wanted to kick someone. Not because she detested Hello Kitty (she actually preferred Doraemon), but because everything was obviously her size, but so not her style. Yet, one was not supposed to complain about something one gets for free, so she just swallowed down the reproach along with the last bite of delicious crepe, and decided to just go with the flow.

Slowly eating the final crepe, she checked her location on Google maps and then figured that she could go to Dornoch on foot. It really was just a few miles away. So, after the breakfast, Bobby washed up (with toothbrush, soap, shampoo, a whole set of towels and what not waiting for her in the bathroom, she was almost expecting the taps to be made of gold, but alas), combed her hair properly, tying it up into a bun and gave herself an inspecting look in the mirror.

She seldom wore her hair like that. Almost made her look like Audrey Hepburn because she had a whole lot of thick hair.

Getting out of the bathroom, she eyed the clothes arranged for her once more and a sigh of defeat escaped her. There really was nothing she could do. She couldn’t go out wearing her own clothes, since they were in a rather deplorable state after a whole night of creasing and crumpling as she had slept with all of her clothes on.

So, by the time she left her room, Bobby was wearing skinny jeans, flat black leather boots, warm cherry-coloured plaid shirt, a thick wool scarf, and a leather jacket that hugged her waist like a tight glove, and she couldn’t help but miss her coat. She didn’t like her butt being exposed like that. However, she also considered herself to be an open-minded person, so changing her style for a day perhaps wasn’t such a bad idea. Especially, as she noticed the butler or whatever you call these people, giving her an eye when she asked for a way out of the castle.

The weather was rather chilly, so she put on the earmuffs that had been added to the whole ensemble (they were puffy and grey, Bobby guessed it was a real rabbit fur or something) and marched down the road, checking her location on the phone map from time to time. Staying on the right side of the road and ignoring the occasional honking from the cars, step after step, she resolutely walked towards Dornoch, thinking she might need to have a decent lunch after this walk in a fresh February air.

Somewhere halfway, she suddenly wondered how on earth she found herself there. Obviously, Bobby knew the superficial answer – Ok Taecyeon, but what she wondered was… how in general her life took this turn.

It seemed that this whole vampire epic has been going on for ages, but come to think of it, just last September, she started a new semester in college being an absolutely normal, albeit perhaps slightly unconventional student with a bunch of close friends sharing similar dreams and aspirations.

Bobby looked up at the deep blue sky. Not a single trace of cloud up there and the sun was obviously trying to burn a whole at the back of her leather jacket, so it didn’t feel as cold as she thought it would, considering it was rather windy.

Perhaps it was because of the wind. That’s right; she nodded to herself, turning right at crossroads.

It must’ve been last October or early November, when she left her home for a night out with friends and forgot her scarf, thinking there would be no need for it. She had been only half-way there when she realized the wind would kill her if she didn’t have any scarf. However, instead of going back home to get her own, she told her friends to go on and she dropped by a local supermarket to get a cheap piece of scarf just for one night. The scarf wasn’t much to look at, but she had to deal with it, and before leaving to catch up with her peers, she dashed for the bathroom just in case.

She never really liked bathrooms at the supermarkets. One could meet all kinds of people there. Hurrying towards her booth she had almost knocked a snogging couple out of her way and before locking herself in the booth, Bobby gave the couple one last glance, thinking that the ladies’ was a very weird place for making out, but who she was to judge people. Then she saw that those were actually two girls, so Bobby just “oh-ed” in her mind, shrugged, and locked herself in.

When she finally had got out (and Bobby thought she had taken less than 2 minutes really) one of the girls was lying in a pool of blood and the other one was creeping towards her, like Bobby was a timid bird about to fly away. Back then, she distinctly remembered gripping the booth door and thinking “the hell,” when all of a sudden, the scary woman hissed and flopped down on the floor, as if suffering a severe fit of cerebral palsy.

“Just my luck,” she had heard then say and looked up to see a tall blonde woman standing next to the sink, stuffing back into her bag something that looked like a set of vaccine shots. “I knew that going to a public restroom was a bad idea,” she then focused on Bobby, who was staring at the scene with wide eyes. The woman rolled her big beautiful eyes. “Well, don’t just stand there,” she hurried towards Bobby avoiding the puddles of blood and the bodies lying around. “Let’s get out of here,” grabbing Bobby by her hand the woman pulled her out of the restroom, and out of the supermarket.

Later on, Bobby found out the young woman was named Yena Kinlan, and she had sedated the vampire with a small shot of quicksilver. Yes, vampires existed; no, Yena hadn’t met any fairies or elves, and the question was what Bobby’s choice would be.

She could either forget and go on living her normal life (which Yena pressed on choosing quite openly), or dive into something that was very hard to get away from. And Bobby, being the adventurous type she was, thought it would be really fun to be around vampires for a while.

She didn’t believe everything was real at the time. It felt like a very peculiar dream and she was sure she was about to wake up. However, that did not happen, and as time went by, she even found other friends and acquaintances, like Brittany and Keira, who were also involved with these creatures to some extent. Life certainly had changed. But she didn’t regret it so far. She was looking forward for more. Had she chosen to stay away, she would be sitting in a boring market analysis class at the moment, instead of strolling to a beautiful town at the northern part of the country.

Dornoch was right ahead of her, and it had taken her less than two hours to reach it. She pulled out her phone to take pictures of the old town, looking around at the same time and thinking how and where she should start her investigation. Bobby didn’t want to ask around, she was pretty sure that Taecyeon was thousands of times better at it, so she decided to simply watch and listen. As far as she knew, they were supposed to look for any traces of Asian vampires, and well… Asians kind of stood out in this part of the country, so if anyone had seen some suspicious and breathtakingly good-looking folks around, they were bound to blurt out about it in front of a glass of beer or something…

Beer… Bobby halted when her stomach made the sound of a dying whale. She was hungry. She had a small roll of quid in her pocket, and she was in the middle of a small historical town.

Looking around, she noticed a plate saying she was in the Argyle Street, and it was full of old stone houses at the both sides of it. The houses looked small and cosy. One could think that no wind could ever get through those thick stone walls. And they must’ve felt really cool in summer. Bobby sighed, walking down the lane. This town was such a great getaway. People didn’t stare even if you were obviously a tourist; there were no crowds or traffic. Just wind and old stone houses and very fresh weather.

And just when her stomach was about to demand a serving of king’s lunch, she stopped in front of a two-storey house with white walls, and there were heavenly scents coming from it, so Bobby decided to get the taste of the traditional Scottish dining there. Even if it looked like it would cost her an arm, a leg, and her smartphone. She deserved some good stuff after taking a long walk from the castle.

When she entered the restaurant, surprisingly, the place was almost full. She could notice a tourist or two who were being quite obvious, but it seemed like the restaurant was mostly catering for the locals. It was warm and cosy, and the best scents in the world were tickling at her nose. People were speaking in such a rich accent that she sometimes had trouble understanding some words even though she’s lived in Scotland all her life.

Bobby was so lulled by the warmth and mesmerising smells that it took her a while to notice when she was comfortably seated at a small table set with a white tablecloth near a window and handed a menu after she absent-mindedly blurted, she had come alone.

Before she knew it, she was dazzled by abundance of seafood, steaks, vegetarian dishes, and desserts in the menu. Thinking that her lunch bill will be covered by the coven anyway, without much hesitation, Bobby ordered the most expensive seafood course, a bottle of wine (she could always take it away and finish it at the castle, ooh, just how awesome it sounded), a set of home-made desserts, and a cup of coffee to top it all. She just hoped she wouldn’t throw up. But then again, she had all day, and what place was better for eavesdropping than a favourite restaurant in town?

She was waiting for her main course when her phone started vibrating madly, spinning round on the table-top. She almost jumped with surprise. Thinking that something bad must’ve happened at the castle or back in Edinburgh, she grabbed the phone and answered it without bothering to check the caller’s ID.

“Hello?!”

“Honey dear, we’re ordering September tickets for Bangkok, are you going to go to Yala with us? It might clash with your classes, but I’m sure we can work it out.”

…

Her head was absolutely empty for a few moments until it finally hit her that the shower of words that had assaulted her just now was spoken in Thai. She almost sighed and forced her frozen brain gears rotate little by little, and when she was sure she had digested everything she heard, the girl finally spoke out.

“I thought we were going to Thailand for Songkran,” she rubbed her left temple in a tired manner – her mother was unstoppable. Ever since her older brother has left to live and work in Thailand after his college graduation, her mum would organize this epic let’s-take-our-whole-family-and-neighbour’s-cat trip to Thailand every single year, but the problem was that Mrs McEwan was very unpredictable. “And… September?” Bobby frowned. “Mum, it’s terribly hot in September. And it rains cats and dogs.”

“That’s why the airplane tickets will be cheaper,” her mum chattered away. “So, I’m booking one for you, ok? Nothing wrong with skipping a few classes here and there… I mean, that’s what you are doing right now, right?” she giggled and Bobby found it terribly awkward. Well, as long as she didn’t act like Dolores Umbridge… Bobby shivered.

“Fine, I’ll go,” she said although September was so far away, she couldn’t even imagine a trip to Thailand at the moment. For all she knew she could have her leg or arm broken by then, if the things with the coven went awry.

“Great!” mother chirped. “What are you doing?” she clearly wasn’t going to let go of her daughter that easy.

“Waiting for my lunch to be served, as a matter of fact,” Bobby looked around to check whether the man who served her was anywhere near, but there was no sign of him.

“And your charming companion?”

“I’m all alone, because he got totally wasted yesterday, and he’s having a terrible hangover so he stayed at the hotel.”

“… … … You’re lying.”

“Yes, I am,” Bobby grinned. “But I’m really on my own, he’s… busy. And honestly, mum, I came to work here…”

“I know, I know, but you can always you know… push them towards the right direction, or just urge them to be done with their tasks sooner. No shame to hurry…” Mrs McEwan thought that if she was 100% productive and with master-level time efficiency, then the whole world was supposed to squeeze an 8-hour work day into a 2-hour timeslot.

“Hurry, hurry, hurry…” Bobby mumbled. “Mum, I can’t rush them, these people… you can’t really push them around,” not to mention that they don’t care about being late, she thought to herself, they have all the time in the world.

“You know I only wish what is best for you, right?” her mother sounded a lot more lenient all of a sudden.

“I know… that’s why you’re dragging me to Thailand during the rainy season, aren’t you?” Bobby smiled.

“That’s right,” she laughed. “See you later, dear.”

“Bye, ka.”

When she put down her phone, she saw a lean man perhaps in his early 50s holding a huge plate of a steamy meal that she ordered a few minutes ago, and her stomach growled like a dying whale again. It would’ve been rather embarrassing if it weren’t for the usual restaurant ruckus, so her embarrassing stomach howling drowned in the general noise. Bobby grinned, hoping the man didn’t hear that.

“Hello,” she said.

“Here you go, young lady,” the man put the plate full of terribly good-looking seafood in front of her. “You aren’t going to run away too, now are you?” he smiled at her. Bobby blinked.

“Too?” she blurted out so fast that her brain didn’t have enough time to rearrange itself, and this one single word came out with a distinct Thai accent. It was weird. She never had Thai accent when she spoke English. She’s lived in Scotland for all of her life!

“A few weeks ago, this young lady…” he smiled looking at her, it seemed he just wanted to chat with an attractive customer. “Just like you, ordered quite a few dishes, but she received a phone call, and after a few hasty _rell rell rell_ , she ran out.”

Bobby frowned, unable to follow him.

“ _Rell rell_?” she asked.

“Well, the word you’ve just said.”

 _Rell, rell_ … she thought… she didn’t really say anything that sounded anything like… _rell_ … wait… _rell_? _Rew? Rew rew?_ _เร็วเร็ว_ _??_

“Oh, you mean, _rew rew_?” she perked up and smiled. “That means “hurry hurry” or “faster faster” in Thai… oh this looks delicious,” she glanced at her meal feeling her mouth begin to water and then focused on the man again. “Do you get Thai customers here often?”

“To tell you the truth, young lady, I can’t tell them apart… Thai, Chinese, Japanese… they all look rather the same to me,” he laughed. “No disrespect though, living here, I am simply not used to different people.”

“Oh, I sure know what you mean,” she nodded, automatically deducing that Asians weren’t that common around here. Not to mention Thai… Honestly, what would a lonely Thai girl do at the very northern part of the British Isles? Aside from being on a vampire mission… Wait a second, Bobby blinked. Did he just say a few weeks ago?

“But it’s rather remarkable that you remember someone from a few weeks ago, I bet you get a lot of customers every single day,” she put her chin onto her hand, leaning her elbow onto the table top.

“Oh, that girl is hard to forget,” the man seemed delighted that the customer was eager to listen to his story. He was bound to tell more, even though the rest of the staff was busy serving other visitors. Perhaps he stood quite high in the restaurant hierarchy to allow himself that kind of deviation from the norm.

“Why?” Bobby lowered her voice. “Was she that bad?” she almost whispered as if the two of them were about to conspire something. The man gave a hearty laugh.

“Oh, no. She was actually really beautiful just as yourself,” (at which Bobby shook her head waving her hand, clearly identifying that the man was overdoing), “But she also looked fragile and pale… she really looked like she should spend some time out in the sun… and food. Girls these days are starving themselves to death with all these ridiculous diets… So, as she kept on ordering one course after another, my wife and I here were actually really happy to see that… I think she was waiting for someone, and then she answered the call and hurried out before leaving more cash than necessary. But we were more worried about the young lady, it was so near the closing hours, and she disappeared into the night all alone…”

Bobby smiled knowingly, taking the silver knife and fork into her hands.

“Well, I can assure you that I am not on a diet, and I will gladly eat everything you bring because I’m STARVING,” she emphasized, stabbing something she didn’t even know the name for and taking a bite of it. She almost shivered. It was so good it was practically melting inside her mouth. “It’s great!” she mumbled with a mouthful of food.

“Fantastic, I will make sure your dessert is prepared well,” the man happily turned around on his heel and headed back into the kitchen.

Ok Taecyeon clearly owned her one, Bobby thought munching fast and trying not to choke – it was so good she wanted to gobble everything down as fast as possible, even though she knew that her stomach would not like that. The question was though, what a lonesome Thai female vampire was doing in Highlands. And what were her associations. To Bobby’s mind, Thai vampires were pretty rare. She didn’t really know any… she gulped.

Except for Khun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 🖤 
> 
>  
> 
> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Egle0702)  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Egle0702)


	16. #16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🔷 Amber isn't cut to be a grown-up, but she has to.  
> 🔷 Jealous youngling Khun is jealous.  
> 🔷 Amber isn't cut to be a grown-up, but she ends up being a counselor, too.  
> 🔷 Ayuda los pobrecitos KhunTaec+Joon en Paraguay por favor.

_Glasgow_

 

It was half past noon and she couldn’t sleep. That… was not normal. Amber kicked her thin silk blanket off and stared frustrated at the white ceiling. This was beyond bizarre. She LOVED sleeping. Even though she could hardly recall her human life by now, she could swear she had loved sleeping as a human as well, so it was supposed to be in her DNA. But now, for some unexplained reason she simply couldn’t black-out.

Reaching out and groping around her night (day?) stand she finally gripped her phone and brought it to her face with the intention to check the weather. She’s just recently switched to a Korean phone brand and she was still missing her Blackberry, but being engaged to a Korean vampire was almost like having a contract with a particular soft-drinks corporation – some habits had to be changed. Not to mention that the phone’s touchscreen was very sensitive even to the lightest of vampire touches, so she couldn’t complain.

The weather app flickered at the touch of her finger, and she saw a cloudy picture and even a cloudier forecast for the oncoming week. Huffing, Amber put the phone away and clapped, making the shutters move up from her huge windows. It was sure cloudy and grey, because she didn’t even flinch when the dull day light poured into her room. She loved this country.

Falling back into her bed, the blonde vampire focused on her phone again, entering the main menu to check her calendar, memo, and the endless to-do list. Being the regent of Scotland meant one seldom had time for oneself, and even though she found more than half of her duties rather bothersome or boring at the least, she figured that being busy was a lot better than brooding and thinking difficult thoughts about existence, sin, and retribution and what not. She was too old for that, and she really meant it.

Her calendar was rather uneventful. That is, she had all of her work done in time, and there was nothing she could do in advance. Even the royal-class invitations for the hunt in the Northern Korean territories have been sent out already…

Amber frowned sliding her finger across the screen and going a few weeks back. Wait a second. Special envoy… Emma was still in Korea, and there was no news of her meeting with Prince Taejo. Sure, officially, she was a free vampire and could do whatever she pleased, but she could’ve at least let Amber know how the things had turned out with His Royal Highness.

Keeping in mind that Korea was nine hours ahead, Amber assumed that Emma surely would not be sleeping at the moment, so she quickly found her contact in the address book and dialled the number. A random Korean R’n’B song with a hip-hop vibe blared into her ear instead of the usual beep tone, and Amber rolled her eyes. That person was not going to grow up. Ever.

“No… way…” she answered after the first verse was over. “You’re not sleeping?!”

“Well, hello to you too,” Amber shot right back at Emma in that calm and low voice of hers.

“Oh, Hi~” Emma chirped. “Seriously, you’re not sleeping?”

“Well, apparently, even I can suffer from insomnia,” Amber sat up, scratching the back of her head. “Listen… I know you’re not really obliged and so on and so forth, but you could have at least told me how your meeting with the Prince went… I might need to report to the Queen sometime around…”

“Oh…” Emma’s voice dropped down by a few tones. “That…”

Amber heard something that sounded like a door being opened and closed, and there was definitely a male speaking. In Korean. A very young one judging from the way he sounded. Emma answered something in Korean as well, and then focused on the phone conversation again.

“I think he hates me because he has been avoiding me ever since I have arrived,” she switched into Early Modern English and Amber understood that whoever was there with her, he was not supposed to witness this exchange. “And you know, Korea makes me itchy. I do not like staying here for a long time.”

“Yes, you hate it, but you love it, but you hate it,” Amber nodded. “It doesn’t sound like you’re lonely though,” she grinned.

“It is just a young boy whom I am teaching Middle Korean, and it is nothing like that… and you know it.”

“Unfortunately,” Amber sighed. “I do.”

“Unfortunately,” Emma scoffed. “Well, either way, I would appreciate it if you sent another envoy or talked to Minjun about this, because His Royal Highness the ASS is not going to see me anytime soon.”

“I shall talk to Minjun about it,” Amber promised staring at her bed sheets, her thoughts already miles ahead of their conversation. “In the meantime, enjoy your boy.”

“I am not enjoying this!” Emma hissed.

“Sure, you’re not,” Amber grinned like a sly fox and hung up. She could vividly imagine Emma fuming like a pressure cooker for rice humans had these days, and the image was so cute she couldn’t help but giggle.

Yet again, something was off. It wasn’t like Amber felt it for the very first time just now: something has been going on for centuries, but she never got the time to investigate. The right people were either too far, or too close. She looked up at the window again.

With Minjun gone, she didn’t really have a reason to go there, but Minjun wasn’t the only person that linked her to the coven. And even though officially there was no bond or allegiance, she still cared. Perhaps it was a good thing that she couldn’t fall asleep. Now she had the time.

Speed dialling a number on her phone, she simply ordered “ _Get my car ready_ ,” and then quickly got off the bed.

Less than two minutes later, she was walking down her mansion stairs, dressed in trainers, jeans, a shirt, a dark purple vest, and a scarf dotted with tiny little pandas (she never really admitted it, but she found the animal adorable), with her hair combed and shiny.

“Is my car ready yet?” she asked, slightly fumbling with her phone, as she tried to push it into her vest pocket, but she noticed it before she heard her assistant utter a timid “ _My Lady…_ ”

Amber halted in the middle of the stairs and it took her less than a fraction of a second to focus on the uninvited guest, standing right in front of the main door. Her face melted into a well-trained smile.

“Hector,” she chirped breaking down into a quick step again. “What an unexpected… surprise.”

The tall blonde vampire, who reminded her of a stiff staff, gave her a curt nod. He clearly had the cheek to appear at her place like that, when she had witnessed him breach the code of conduct through the CCTV record just a few days ago.

“What can I do for you?” she asked without any intention to do anything for him.

Appearing during the daytime unannounced, when probably everyone in the British Isles knew how much of a sleepy-head she was… he had SUSPICIOUS and DANGER written all over him.

“I’m afraid you have caught me at the wrong time… I was just about to leave…”

“My lady,” he gave a very small bow again. “I do realize that I have appeared without notice, but I have come to report an unregistered new-born,” he pulled out a folded piece of paper from his jacket’s inner pocket. “I have run into him a few days ago, and the youngling seems to be without any master or even an imprint,” he unfolded the paper and gave it to Amber, who’s halted right in front of him. “That definitely should be taken care of.”

Amber took the piece of paper from him and looked at the delicate portrait drawing that looked terribly life-like. Jang Wooyoung was staring right back at her, wearing his best poker-face. She wanted to slap the old vampire in the face and break his leg off. Was he kidding her?

“You do realize that I know of this, right?” she looked up at Hector showing him the portrait. “I’ve got all the CCTV data, Hector; I know what happened that night.”

The vampire cocked one of his pale eyebrows.

“Then I am surprised that no action has been taken to secure this dangerous new-born,” he said indignantly.

“I am surprised you have the cheek to appear at my doorstep just like that, Hector,” Amber frowned with her fangs still tucked safely under her upper lip. She had no intention nor wish to deal with this obnoxious piece of a vampire at the moment.

“Rather than this new-born, whoever he is,” she waved the paper in front of his eyes. “I am more concerned about you, because you clearly have breached quite a few regulations,” she sighed, folding the drawing and shoving it into her bag that hung on her shoulder. “You know we don’t take our battles out in the open. Not to mention you had human hunters hired. That’s just low…” she wasn’t trying to hide the disgust in her voice by now. “You are not being charged just because you’re old as hell, and the Queen still thinks highly of your master,” she switched into Old English startling her assistant, who was standing at the door with the keys to her car in his hand.

“I will look into this new-born matter, but don’t expect me to hand him over to you,” she seared him with the glare of her sky-blue eyes. “Lord knows what you lot might do to him,” and then suddenly her face brightened up as she took a step back and gave him a curt nod. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I don’t know who’ve thrown the apple of discord between you and Nichkhun Horvejkul, but I need to check upon him as well. He and his coven are guests, and they have the permission to stay in the Isles for as long as they wish, so I have to attend to them.”

“It was clear from the start that choosing a foreigner to govern Scotland was not a wise decision,” he uttered in an accented Old English as well, as she was about to leave.

Amber’s hand froze on the big round door knob, and she turned her head slightly to the left, not even bothering to give him a full once-over.

“Let me remind you, Mr Kjar Haakonson,” she began in a voice lower than the usual. “That I do recall seeing you there on the night I was turned. You are definitely not the one to talk of the British pride or some similar crap,” she opened the door. “Anthony, see the gentleman off, and don’t wait for me,” the female vampire ordered in her flawless British English, took the keys from her assistant, and walked out of her huge house.

“Yes, my lady,” her human assistant was more than glad to lead the creepy guest out of the mansion.

 

 

_Edo Japan, 1760s_

 

He was trailing some five steps away from them. They didn’t hold hands, and he found it rather weird because Chansung was the type who liked touching things. It especially applied to the things he liked, and their shoulders constantly brushed against each other from time to time. So, Khun was really surprised they didn’t hold hands.

He made himself scan the surroundings, driving his sense to the edge, hoping to catch something that might be the first signs of potential ambush, but it was very quiet. There was just the river bank, the full moon, and blooming cherry trees all around them. Small petals slowly hovered down, making the scenery look ethereal as it was flooded with silver moonlight. Khun knew it was not polite to eavesdrop, but they weren’t keeping their voices down, and it was impossible NOT to hear something like that especially when one had vampire hearing.

So, her name was Emma. Fine.

She was from Northumberland, or England, or what was called the British Empire nowadays. She apparently had met Chansung back in early Joseon, when he still a very young vampire, and ever since then they haven’t met for almost 300 years. Fancy meeting her in Japan though.

On the other hand, it made Khun realize that Chansung’s had a life, experience, and history outside of their little family. Ever since he’s been a new-born, Khun was so used to having Chansung beside him, teaching him and explaining him things, that he inevitably took it for granted, and subconsciously, he came to believe that he knew everything about the elder vampire.

He would always find himself rapt in Chansung’s stories about his travels with Minjun, or his early days in Joseon. Sometimes even Minjun would join in with his tales on Silla, little by little switching over into the old Silla Korean without even realizing it, to the point that even Chansung wouldn’t understand him anymore.

But this time, it was different. He could hear them talk in a version of Korean that was slightly different from the one he was taught, and he sometimes struggled to understand what they were talking about, but the general meaning was clear. It was different because she would say, _oh, and you remember when_ , and he would reply with, _yes, and then you did this_ , and she would laugh, and he would join in, and Nichkhun would find himself jealous of the fact they had common memories and experiences. He knew it was ridiculous to feel this way, but he felt terribly frustrated because he couldn’t have done anything about it: back in 1400s, he had simply not been there yet.

They were now talking about him.

She said something about not being able to judge people well based on her first impressions. Chansung laughed and said that “our Nichkhun is practically the same.”

Khun frowned. Was he really like that? Well, to think of it, he had definitely thought that Chansung was a clumsy hulk of meat when he first laid his eyes on him. Right when he had been waiting for the opportunity to attack. And Minjun had obviously come across as a stuck-up old man, revelling a tad too much in his power. And now her… annoying little brat.

Honestly, she must’ve been sixteen or eighteen when she was turned, and a few centuries of here and there clearly didn’t do her brain justice. Annoying, loud, and sounds like she knows all the secrets in the world. Khun kind of hoped his first impressions wouldn’t change for the better. Because it would’ve been… disappointing.

His ears perked up suddenly when he heard a light rustle of fabric, and he stopped dead in his tracks. Chansung and this Emma girl halted as well, because Chansung had obviously smelled something. He gave Khun one fleeting glance and it was enough for him to understand what he was supposed to do. He shot up into the sky without any prelude and soared towards the source.

A lonesome young woman walked down the path along the riverbank. It was rather unusual for humans to wander this far away from the town, especially for ordinary female peasants. Khun narrowed his eyes looking at her from above. Wait a second, she wasn’t a peasant.

Judging from her clothes, she was definitely an upper class. Perhaps even a daughter of a local daimyo. Khun quickly went through the possible options in his head and concluded that she most probably was hurrying towards the temple up in the mountains. He couldn’t come up with any other place for a young woman to go.

His throat went dry. He liked women. Both as companions and food, they always tasted fresh compared to men. He found male blood to be more… sombre, for the lack of a better word, and sometimes even stale. Khun always thought that was because women bled regularly and their blood would go through renewal cycles. He didn’t know for sure, of course. He simply assumed it was so, and as he kept on watching the woman go, even his tongue went dry.

He was hungry. Not to the point where he would drop down to the floor and thrash around begging to be fed (oh, the early embarrassing moments), but it hasn’t been long since Chansung fed on him (surprisingly, a lot), and Khun could have really used some fresh stock for full recovery.

However, he was not about to succumb to his cravings, especially with an unfamiliar vampire around. So what if she claimed to be Chansung’s best friend, Nichkhun didn’t know her. And he was not about to drape himself in crimson in front of that old woman who looked more like an annoying brat.

He soared back to Chansung and his friend, who were already perched up on a cherry tree, waiting for the human to pass. They were obviously not up for a late-night snack as well.

“Just one woman,” he uttered in Thai landing on a branch next to Chansung. “Noble, probably going to the temple.”

“Well done,” Chansung patted Khun on his knee, his eyes focused on the narrow path along the river. The youngling suddenly got the impression that Chansung was commending him for not devouring the human. “We shall let her pass,” Chansung’s Thai was very accented but correct.

“He doesn’t seem to trust me,” Emma pointed out in her own language, knowing that Chansung would definitely remember at least a few words she had taught him centuries ago.

“And this comes from a person who wanted to break my neck on our first meeting,” Chansung grinned answering in what was a rather decent old piece of English.

“Point taken,” she snickered, and then they all hushed, as if someone had given an order to.

Their senses spiked when the woman got closer and closer, and before they knew it, she emerged from behind the turn of the path right in front of them. She hurried down, not taking any notice of her surroundings.

She really would’ve noticed three creatures perched on a tree right above her head because they obviously weren’t even trying to hide. Chansung watched her go, taking in the soft features and uncharacteristically big eyes. She had a small nose with a relatively low bridge and was somewhat pale, but still looked healthy. She was… tiny and delicately proportioned, and her clothes made her look almost like a child who had accidentally put on her mother’s clothes. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

They remained absolutely motionless until after she had disappeared behind yet another turn in the narrow path. Nichkhun was the first to get down. Emma and Chansung followed soon after him, and then they moved on along the river in the direction opposite from the one taken by the young woman.

Chansung seemed thoughtful while Emma marvelled at the cherry blossoms, and Khun was seriously considering to go hunting right before the sunrise. It felt like his throat was being carved by silver-sharp razors.

“She looked…” Chansung spoke softly. “She looked a lot like Jeonghee.”

Who is Jeonghee, Khun wanted to ask, but before he opened his mouth to speak, Emma beat him to it, offering a rather different question:

“You think she could be her descendant?”

For some reason, Khun felt like someone just stabbed him in the guts. Emma obviously knew what or who this Jeonghee person had been, and he clearly ran into another wall called Chansung’s past. A wall he had yet to climb over. But she was already on the other side. She had always been there.

It really seemed like he had so much of catching up to do, even after a whole hundred years of staying together. Why Chansung’s life had to be so eventful and full of unfamiliar people? Khun realized he was being possessive, but he couldn’t help it.

“Hardly,” Chansung shook his head making Khun focus on the ongoing conversation. “The scent was absolutely different.”

“Sorry about that,” Emma stared at her feet as they kept on walking.

“What is there to be sorry about?” Chansung laughed. “It was such a long time ago.”

“I know, but you probably still miss her from time to time…”

This whole Jeonghee-what’s-her-face conversation was beginning to drive Khun insane. He wanted to know, but his pride was too big to ask, so he just kept on listening.

“Miss… is probably not the exact word,” Chansung mused looking up into the sky with a soft smile on his handsome face. “Perhaps sometimes I’m just curious of what has become of her. How she ended up living her life…” he chuckled at random memories popping into his head. “And she often comes to me as the most distinct flashes of my human years… But it’s just flashes, you know. I remember details, not the whole picture. How her hair felt. What her skin smelled like. Her voice, or how her brush would move over her paper…” he looked down shaking his head, his shoulder-length hair swaying back at forth. “It just comes and goes…”

“Of course, you would remember the brush,” Emma chuckled. “That must have been...” and then she halted. The two male vampires stopped as well eyeing her. She blinked.

“How her hair felt? What her skin SMELLED?” she stressed. “Hwang Chansung!” she pointed her finger accusingly at him. “Yangban women… don’t show their skin. You said you weren’t married?!”

“I wasn’t,” he smiled sheepishly.

“What the hell?” Emma stared at him in disbelief.

“Well,” he looked somewhat embarrassed and cheeky at the same time. “It’s not a common practice, but…”

“You DIED,” she stressed exasperated. “And what became of her?”

“No one knew,” Chansung shrugged, and then he flinched slightly when he noticed the incredulous look on Emma’s face. “Okay, maybe our closest servants did…” he mumbled.

“I can’t believe you,” she rolled her eyes shaking her head. Emma turned to walk away from him.

“No, but honestly,” he hurried after her, and Khun tagged along like in a dream. “It was consensual…”

“I sure hope it was!” Emma halted again and glared at him. Chansung cringed a little bit.

“I mean… we knew the risks,” he stopped. “And I lingered long enough to make sure she got married after I was turned. The last I knew of her, she had two sons and a huge household… that was five years before I met you!” he added.

Emma narrowed her eyes, still judging him.

“Why did she ever agree to it is beyond my comprehension,” she grumbled.

Chansung just gave her a big shrug and a goofy smile. His hair swayed along with his shoulders. Emma’s eyes travelled down his solid body and then back to his handsome face framed with lush and thick hair, two big dark eyes staring back at her.

“You, insatiable incubus,” she clicked her tongue and walked away shaking her head.

Khun thought he was going to fall flat this very instance because he could swear Hwang Chansung blushed. Or maybe the silver moonlight was playing tricks on his otherwise keen eagle-eyes, but whatever it was, he realized that it wasn’t the Chansung’s life after the turn that he knew very little of. He also had a lot to learn about the young master Hwang’s human life as well.

 

 

_Edinburgh, present day_

 

She gripped the UV flashlight tight in her hand and climbed the steep wooden stairs into the attic. Opening the hatch and climbing up so that her upper body would be fully in the attic, she turned the flashlight on, and aimed it at the piece of log on the floor that was the sleeping vampire.

Yena really hated doing that. If it were Ok Taecyeon, she actually wouldn't have thought twice of it, but right now, she had to wake up Hwang Chansung. Hwang Chansung, whose natural dark circles under those big bovine eyes had become a lot more prominent in the recent days with everything they had to go through. So, Yena really felt bad about it. But she couldn’t help it. There was no way she could deal with this vampire lady, and Chansung was exactly the right person to handle the situation. So, she aimed the flashlight straight at his face.

As the prickling sensation on his skin finally registered in his brain, Chansung frowned. The crease formed in between his eyebrows and and rolled left, turning his back to Yena. He was sleeping on a simple mat without any pillow or blanket, wearing nothing but really wide and comfy traditional Thai trousers and a black tank top. Therefore, his arms and parts of his nape and back were also exposed, so Yena flashed the UV there.

He sat up slowly, tufts of his hair at the back of his head swaying back and forth as he moved. Chansung resembled a disoriented bear that has just been woken up from hibernation, and he turned his head left and right with his eyes still closed, as he sniffed the surroundings, trying to figure out what, where, and why. When a faint bittersweet scent reached his nostrils, Chansung opened his eyes and turned right to see half of Yena peeking out of the attic hatchway, with a huge UV flashlight in her hand that was now turned off. Chansung sighed, his initial alert fading away.

“Hi,” Yena gulped – his apparent calmness would still unsettle her from time to time. “I’m really sorry about this, but we’ll have a guest soon. Check your phone,” she said and disappeared.

Chansung gave one lazy blink staring at the closed hatch, and then plopped back onto his mat again, left hand groping around the floor in search for his phone. Not that he had any problem with being awake at day time, it just sometimes took him awhile before his brain would kick in full force. As his fingers clasped around a lukewarm sleek surface, he brought the phone to his eyes and gave it a closer look. There was one message.

_To: Hwang Chansung, Yena Kinlan  
Title: We need to talk_

_Hello. This is Amber. Minjun gave me your number before he left. He said you are the one responsible for the coven while he is away. I have some matters to discuss with you, and it is best that we meet in private. Since it is very likely that you are blacked out for the day, I am sending a copy of this message to Ms Yena Kinlan as well. I shall arrive to Edinburgh in about an hour. See you then. Amber._

Chansung blinked frowning and checked the time. He had around 20 minutes left.

 

Yena left the flashlight in the storage and went down the stairs. The space in the attic was probably just as wide the first floor, and it was divided into three rooms: one for Chansung, one for Minjun, and the remaining one was a storage room with a skylight leading to the roof. Yena’s always wondered why the two eldest ones had to stay in the attic.

It was more than obvious that the first-floor rooms occupied by the younglings were a lot better, but who was she to question the vampire logic? Their rooms, however, were a total contrast to each other.

Chansung’s room had a chest of drawers, a mat, and a small table he had purchased at an auction, saying it reminded him of the one he had had back in Joseon. One could sometimes see Chansung sit cross-legged in front of the table writing, reading, or occasionally (although that was rather rare) browsing the Internet.

Minjun, however, had a humble bed, a huge wardrobe, and a desk set with laptop and every single gadget that could be attached to it. Although he was the oldest, he definitely loved modern technologies. No wonder he gave a smartphone to this fiancée as a present. A fiancée who was about to pay them a visit.

Yena grumbled opening the fridge, figuring they were ought to welcome this female vampire because she at least managed to send a notice. Via a text message. How modern of her.

The doorbell rang right when she placed a tray with two glasses of microwaved donor blood on the table in the living-room. She also set a small plate of frozen blood cubes next to it, just in case the lady liked it cold. Although Yena had no trouble picking B positive for Chansung’s glass, she had some thinking to do before she decided what to pour into Lady Amber’s cup. She should’ve asked about her preferences (Yena didn’t like being unprepared), but eventually, she opted for O negative. Everyone liked O negative. It was the safest bet.

Yena walked out of the living-room and headed straight into the hall to open the door. Not knowing exactly what to expect, she pulled the door open and the first thing that came to her mind was “tall.” Of course, Amber wasn’t as tall as Yena, but for a vampire her age five foot seven(ish) was quite a feat. She must’ve been considered a giant at the time she was turned.

Yena nodded.

“Hello, Lady Amber, I presume,” she eyed the vampire up and down, taking in her clothes and deciding that this female here sure knew her preferences. “How do you do?”

“Good day,” Amber answered with a slight nod and Yena couldn’t help but notice her low voice. It sounded soothing and natural. Not the kind of a low voice you get from smoking, drinking, or simply getting up too early in the morning.

“Miss Yena Kinlan? Nice to meet you,” Amber offered a polite smile. She also obviously didn’t know how to go around this because Yena didn’t exhibit any sign of anxiety or fear. She didn’t even look too interested. “I am sorry to have barged in like this with a short notice, but I have some matters to discuss with… Chansung,” she faltered before pronouncing his name, hoping she got it right.

“Come in,” Yena moved away from the doorstep, letting the vampire in. “You must be the highest-ranking vampire official to have ever entered my house.”

“Funny of you to say so,” Amber smiled scanning the room with a hint of curiosity and then focused back on Yena. “When you basically have a royal Korean vampire clan living under your roof.”

“They’re not related to Prince Taejo,” Yena frowned confused.

“Not directly, no,” Amber shook her head and was about to say something else, when they both noticed Chansung slowly descending down the stairs.

He had put on dark trousers and a light blue shirt. He’d left the top of it unbuttoned, and a white tank-top shone through. It seemed like he’d tried to pass for business casual. Both women thought he succeeded.

“Good day, my lady,” Chansung offered a bow once he set his foot on the ground floor. “How can I be of assistance?”

“Hello, Chansung,” Amber nodded. “There are some matters to be discussed, and I just happened to have some spare time hence, this unexpected visit. Sorry for troubling you.”

“Oh, not at all,” Chansung shook his head. “Please, this way,” he motioned towards the living-room, expecting the lady in jeans and trainers to follow after him, but Amber remained motionless.

He stopped and glanced at her surprised. She looked determined; there was not a single trace of embarrassment or shyness on her face.

“I am really sorry that you have gone to such lengths to prepare all of this, but the refreshments will not be necessary,” she uttered in an almost official tone. “And I hope you don’t mind, but I need to talk to you… in private,” she emphasized.

Yena wanted to scream.

One thing she really hated was wasting. She could never understand how people could waste food, and wasting blood was basically unacceptable in her books. Yet, the vampire in front of her was the Regent of Scotland, and there wasn’t much she could do. She wished she could just go back to the lab that had been set in her basement under Minjun’s orders, and continue working on that vampire virus. She had been this close from figuring it out when her phone vibrated with Amber’s message.

Chansung, on the other hand, didn’t even bat an eyelid. He moved aside from the stairs and gestured upwards.

“This way then, please,” he bowed slightly and Amber walked past him, slowly climbing up the stairs and sniffing the surroundings as the vampire scent was a lot more prevalent on the 1st floor.

Before he could follow Minjun’s fiancée, Chansung dashed to the living room and took both glasses into his hands. Yena blinked staring at him. Chansung simply met her eyes and gobbled down the blood from the glasses in a big gulp each, without even smearing his teeth with the cloggy liquid. He then put the glasses down, walked over to Yena, and patted her on her head, giving her a kind smile.

“You are saint,” he said and hurried up the stairs after the vampire lady.

Yena was left staring at nothing in particular for a few moments before she realized that the only thing left to take care of was the frozen blood cubes. She could just put them back into the freezer and be done with it. It’s not like her cat would enjoy melting blood or something… her eyes widened suddenly as she remember that she had left Bruno all alone in the lab downstairs. Blimey. It took her a record time to place the cubes back into the freezer and then dash down back into the lab.

 

Amber couldn’t deny she was surprised to see the second-in-command was living in the attic, but she actually liked his room. Aside from the fact that it was humble and almost Spartan, it purported that Chansung meant business and actually had a style – the old (original!) Asian table was definitely a rare item these days. She actually took off her shoes before fully entering his sanctuary. She just felt she had to.

“So, what is it that you need to talk about?” Chansung asked, sitting down with his legs crossed behind the table, and indicating for her to sit across from him. Amber wasn’t a fan of sitting cross-legged, but it was his room, and his rules were to be obeyed.

“Actually, my initial intention was to talk about something else,” she curled up on the floor, putting her forearms on the table. “But right before I left, I had an unexpected visitor,” her face clouded over and Chansung guessed it had something to do with the incident from more than a week ago.

“And who could it have been?” he inquired narrowing his eyes.

“Hector,” Amber growled and pulled a folded piece of paper from her vest’s pocket, as Chansung clearly didn’t look too pleased with the news. “He gave me this, asking to carry out a search for this unregistered new-born,” she unfolded the paper and gave it to Chansung, who was not at all surprised to see a very detailed portrait of Jang Wooyoung.

“I knew this would happen,” Chansung sighed seeing the portrait. “Khotan is a collector; he would love to have an imprint-less new-born in his collection.”

“If you asked me,” Amber was actually really concerned about this. “Even if you made your ma… maknae, is that right?” Chansung nodded as she got the word right. “Even if your maknae was to get himself an imprint, I really doubt Hector would leave him off the hook. Perhaps… if his master only wants to upgrade his collection, Wooyoung would be safe from Khotan, but not from Hector. That guy is terribly vengeful. He would still want him for getting in his way when he tried to deal with Nichkhun… Why was he after Khun in the first place?” she sounded confused.

It took Chansung just a fraction of second of consideration, before he decided he could spill the beans. Being frank had always been the best policy in his books.

“Khun and Hector are… brothers… so to speak,” he explained.

“… I beg your pardon?” Amber thought her ears failed her.

“Khun was turned by Khotan because he wanted to carry out an experiment and see how well an imprint-less vampire can adapt to our society, but Khun managed to imprint on me on his first night, and so the experiment failed,” Chansung’s voice sounded distant because he was trying to keep his anger and frustration locked deep inside him. “Ever since then, we would clash with Khotan and his crowd, and I really…” he sighed. “If there’s something I wish, it’s for Khotan to be dead. To put it simply, he’s one big pain in the ass… forgive me for saying that.”

“Khotan…” Amber repeated staring Chansung straight in the eye. “The Khotan. The creepier than creepy Khotan?” Chansung nodded. “Sweet Lord… I have seen him only once a few decades ago, but that old man is beyond uncanny. He doesn’t care about regulations and everyone leaves him be, just because he’s that old… I really don’t know anyone older than him. Well… maybe Lady Kahelin, but it’s not polite to ask a woman of her age, even if she’s a vampire…” she mused and Chansung couldn’t help but snort. Amber smiled as well.

“Well, one thing’s certain, we need to keep Wooyoung and Nichkhun out of their reach, now don’t we? I don’t suppose they’re out of the house at the moment? It actually feels rather empty,” she took a deep sniff again.

“Oh no,” Chansung shook his head. “As you know very well, Minjun has left for Korea, and Taecyeon is currently in Dornoch working on that vampire virus case. Junho is staying away for safety’s sake for the time being with… his girlfriend… or so we believe, and Khun with Wooyoung are sleeping in their rooms. Khun has almost recovered, but he still needs to sleep on it, and Wooyoung simply needs some rest. He recovered fast, but he’s been really stressed out lately, and I need him to be at his top shape before we start to train.”

“Train?” Amber’s eyebrows rose.

“Yes,” Chansung nodded. “I need to teach our younglings how to fight. They don’t know much.”

“Ah… kids these days,” Amber nodded completely agreeing with him. “They don’t make them as tough as they used to, now do they?” she smiled.

“Indeed, my lady,” Chansung answered with a serene smile as well. “And… you said your initial intention was to talk about something else?”

“Yes,” the mood changed and Chansung felt like the official veil has been discarded because Amber suddenly looked a lot more approachable, as if she had switched into a personal level in split of a second. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something ever since I’ve first heard about you, but… I guess it took me almost half a millennium to meet you.”

“My lady?” Chansung wasn’t quite sure what she was trying to say.

“Emma,” she leaned with both of her elbows onto the table and pierced Chansung with the steady gaze of her sky-blue eyes. “What happened to her in Joseon? And call me Amber.”

“Umm…” Chansung got up from where he was sitting and walked away to his chest of drawers. He stared at nothing in particular. “I thought it was just me imagining things, but now that you’ve mentioned it…” he turned to look at her. “What happened to Emma, you ask? I wish, I knew. I think…” he hushed.

“Go on,” Amber urged him to carry on, getting up from the ground and approaching him slowly.

“I think, something happened right before we met,” he stared at his hand, but he didn’t see it, as the images from that night a few centuries ago filled his vision. “She tried to kill me; you know? And she had no scent around her. At all. Her clothes were washed to the point that all scents were gone, and she’d been staying underwater for quite some time, as if she was trying to wash something away. I never asked though,” he snapped out of it, and focused on Amber. “Because I knew she wouldn’t answer. What… how did she change?”

Amber looked away from him, slowly walking towards the other end of the room, because it required delving into an even deeper past.

“She used to be…” she began carefully picking her words. “How should I put it… very trustful? In a good way…” Amber turned to look at Chansung, because she felt he was the one who would understand her as they were talking about the person both of them knew so well. “You know she’s smart and probably the most rational being on Earth, but she would always give everyone the privilege of doubt no matter who they were or what they were. Her maker had been an abusive monster, but even that didn’t stop her from trusting people. She trusted everyone too much. Especially men.”

“So, you kept her away from them?” Chansung asked.

“Not exactly, no,” Amber shook her head smiling. “She hates bites and she doesn’t believe in blood-call, so she’s always preferred humans.”

“Ah,” Chansung gave a tired laugh. “That I do know.”

“She’s always thought that matching characters were enough and that blood didn’t matter, but you know that’s not true,” Amber looked at him almost pleadingly and Chansung nodded – he had to agree that she was telling the truth. “She’s always been disgusted by the thought that we bite each other, so I just told her to wait until she gets her own venom, and then see it for herself. I never expected her to listen to me… who would’ve thought that girl would be so persistent and stubborn,” Amber mumbled staring at her feet.

“And once she got her own venom, she left for the Far East,” Chansung concluded.

“I sometimes think that she found someone she actually wanted to bite, but she got burned,” Amber voice seethed with cold anger. “If I ever find whoever did that to her, I will…”

“I know…” he nodded coming closer, examining her with his penetrating eyes. “I will too,” he declared halting right in front of her and pursing his lips. Amber had to look up to meet his gaze, because he was a bit too close. Chansung looked as if he wasn’t quite sure whether he was supposed to say what he was about to say.

“Whatever it is, just get it out,” Amber encouraged him.

“Were you her first?” he asked.

Amber snorted and then let out a loud laugh that rang in the half-empty attic.

“Well, we did fool around, but we both have always known we prefer men, and no. I wasn’t her first,” Amber gave him a searching look. “She doesn’t talk much about her human years, does she?” she chuckled. Chansung blinked confused.

“No… I would be the one to talk about it more, to be honest.”

“Well, you two met when you were still very young,” Amber shrugged. “So, you had nothing else but your human years to talk about, but… Chansung,” she looked him in the eye. “Emma was the youngest daughter of a rich nobleman, and she had a considerable dowry. But when she was turned on her seventeenth summer, she was still unmarried. Can you guess why?”

Something scratched at the back of his head, coming back from a deep past, and Chansung felt ice-cold dread pooling in the pit of his stomach. He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. Amber grinned mischievously, reading the expression on his face like an open book.

“Exactly,” she nodded. “She was unmarried because her father couldn’t marry her off. She had a reputation. Clearly the rumours were quite exaggerated, and I’ve never asked, but I do believe she went for it consciously because she didn’t want to get married. Emma’s always had commitment issues, and that clearly comes from her human days.”

“Can…” Chansung stared at her thoughtfully. “Can you show me?”

Amber frowned confused.

“Show you what?”

“Her early years?”

Amber’s frown deepened.

“Through the Shadow?” she asked and Chansung gave a slight nod. Amber eyed the top of his tank-top. “Why would you want to live through the Shadow? You can always go and take her. You two click so well, why…”

“There’s no blood-call,” Chansung objected. “You said it yourself. Blood-call is important,” he sighed, discarding the calm mask he was wearing. The look in his eyes became somewhat pensive and he reached out to touch her wrist.

“I wish there was one,” he stared directly into her eyes. “I really do. We get along so well it’s ridiculous, but the blood… I’ve had a taste of her, her blood is really nice, like a clear mountain stream. But it doesn’t take my breath away, figuratively speaking,” he gave a sad smirk and Amber snorted.

“I’m pretty sure I don’t blow her mind as well, so… it’s so frustrating… don’t you think?” there was a tinge of raw passion in his voice and Amber almost shivered. “We’re rational beings who are supposed to have their own say in choosing things, but we still depend on something as primal as our blood and its preferences. It’s so not fair…” Amber thought she saw red tears rimming his eyes, but perhaps she imagined things because the next second it was gone.

“And the worst…” he carried on. “Is that I always feel like I’m in this perpetual game of catch-up. I’ve known her all my life, but there’s so much about her life I don’t know? She has so much experience out of my range of knowledge, that I often feel our common memories aren’t enough. But I can’t do anything about it because I simply wasn’t there, you know? It’s only natural because she’s older. But it’s so annoying because I WANT to know. And I want to fill in those gaps even if it’s just a crutch,” he hushed and pressed harder at her wrist.

Amber watched him go from composed to agitated, and she found it fascinating how flush crept up his neck and his cheeks. She didn’t know him well, but she doubted Chansung would often show this raw side of his. He was... insecure. This gorgeous, powerful vampire felt insecure, and for some reason, she felt moved.

“I will show you something,” she said calmly and Chansung’s face lit up. “But if you ever tell her, I will bite your head off.”

“Point taken,” he smiled when she freed her wrist from his grip and locked his hand between her fingers instead.

“Think,” she said turning his hand palm up, trying to remember things from more than 700 years ago. “And don’t complain later,” she found a vein in his palm and bit without any preamble.

Chansung scrunched his nose in pain, but the same wavelength pulled his mind straight into a dark space, where all of his senses suddenly got cut off. Brain was a wonderful thing. It could conjure anything.

His room disappeared, he stood in the middle of dense darkness that began swirling and changing, and spinning. The shades of black gradually turned into shades of grey, and he felt like he was standing in the middle of a thick fog, until eventually it lifted, and he saw trees and sky, and a raw gloomy country side on the edge of a forest. It was drizzling. He felt water on his face, but he wasn’t getting soaked.

A figure in dark grey stood a little bit further from him, as if waiting for his attention. He looked up and almost choked. She looked just like she looks now. Just a slightly different hair and a more open look in her eyes. She smiled.

“This is what I told you about,” she said and her voice reached him in waves, like he was underwater. “But you have to promise not to laugh,” she fidgeted in an uncharacteristically shy manner, and Chansung’s heart almost broke.

“I promise,” he heard himself say in Amber’s voice.

Emma smiled again and soared up into the closest tree, beckoning him to come along.

Brain was sure a very powerful thing. It made him see things he wanted to see, feel things he wanted to feel. At the back of his head he knew that he was simply seeing someone else’s memories, but it was the Shadow, and nothing existed outside of it. He was there. It was now. And it was her.

 

 

_Paraguay, 1930s_

 

It was close to morning and hot enough to make your ordinary human sweat. He still found it hard to compute the fact that it could be as high as 40 degrees Celsius in December, but that was the Southern hemisphere for you.

The three of them stood back to back in the middle of an empty plain save for a few dry trees, scarce bushes, and a dozen or so local Guarani vampires baring their fangs at them. He heard gun fire in the distance, and something told him they would not be reaching Pozo Colorado by dawn. Just their luck, Ok Taecyeon hated digging into the ground for the day.

“Whose idea was it to cross Paraguay again?” Khun asked, mentally counting the hostile vampires, surprised there were so many of them.

They were probably lured in by the ivory stench of blood that was all over the plain because of the war that’s been going on for more than a year now. As usual, Taec was the one to do the homework, and when he had reported his findings to Khun, the Thai was very reluctant to travel via Gran Chaco because wars always attracted vultures and scavengers, and he hated those types of vampires the most.

“You would be starving in Atacama right now,” Joon sounded defensive. “Digging into the sands every single day.”

“Joon, we’re not that much better off right now,” Taec pointed out, clearly feeling the remains of soil in his right ear from last night… er... day.

He could understand why the locals were so hostile towards them though. Even if their little group had no intention of stealing their prey, for a vampire, living in this kind of environment was tough. The prey was scarce, and the more bloodsuckers there were, the harder it was to survive. With a war going on, it was only natural that the local vampires would flock around the warfare epicentre, and any unfamiliar vampire would be treated like an unwanted trespasser. And as far as their threesome was concerned, they really, honestly, truthfully just wanted to pass.

But now it didn’t seem like it would happen any time soon.

“Can’t you just tell them that we have no intention of tapping into their resources?” Joon asked, already counting the odds and thinking of the best way to deal with the locals. They were definitely outnumbered, but he could tell the vampires in front of them were not that old. So, the threesome certainly had an advantage… well, Taecyeon might’ve been only around 50, but what he lacked in age he offset in strength, as the youngest of the so-called Daegu royal coven was ridiculously strong.

“Joon,” Taec uttered in his low voice. “I know I’m a genius and all that, but even I can’t learn a language in a DAY,” he emphasized rolling his eyes.

“Taecyeon,” Khun squeezed Taec’s hand lightly before letting it go, as he felt that their youngest was getting slightly agitated. “No one expects you to be fluent in Guarani. We don’t need that,” he put his hands up, indicating he meant no harm, and exclaimed in a confident voice: “ _Somos mensajeros oficiales de Príncipe Taejo de Corea. No estamos interesados en sus humanos. ¡Solo queremos pasar!_ ”

With that the growling around them grew even more intense, and the circle narrowed down to the point the aggressive vampires were within an arm’s reach now. They clearly understood what had been said, but it seemed like they weren’t too satisfied with that.

“Ah… Khun?” Taec’s eyes darted from one Guarani face to another. The confrontation was inevitable now. “I don’t think… they like Spanish too much… you know, Spanish vamps have come along with the conquistadores and basically pushed the locals out of the best hunting-grounds.”

“Couldn’t mention that earlier, now could you?” Joon was now 100% ready to defend himself and his companions with all he had.

“Hyung, aren’t you supposed to be the leader of our campaign?” Khun bumped his shoulder into Joon’s back, unleashing the bicker flood to the fullest.

“The hell, I know nothing of South America!” Joon spiked up. “That’s why you two brainiacs are with me. Hyung only sent me away because I broke his favourite Goryeo vase…”

“Wow, I would’ve never thought His Majesty to be this petty…” Taec mused. “Not to mention have an interest in pottery…”

Gun fire thundered a few kilometres east, and it worked like a signal for the Guarani to attack. They were getting tired of waiting already; not to mention that listening to the three strange vampires bickering in a weird language they couldn’t understand was extremely frustrating. So, once the humans over there resolved to carry on with their battle, the vampires also plunged forward.

Nichkhun, Joon, and Taecyeon tensed, expecting a strong blow, waiting to retaliate. No matter how experienced one was, or what advanced fighting skills one had, when one was outnumbered… one WAS outnumbered. It was especially relevant in a vampire confrontation, because if the mass that assaults was not bound to follow the basic battle code, you were technically screwed.

Most of them flocked together onto Taec, probably thinking they should take him down first due to his sheer size. He was soon buried under a mountain of vampires, and he had to fight his way through a cobweb of bodies on his own, because Khun and Joon were busy fighting the rest.

It took them just a fraction of second to pull their swords out, and Khun actually regretted not having taken his gun with silver bullets. The community still was rather reluctant to use the newest weapon technologies because they preferred to tackle their problems in the old ways, but when a situation was dire, one could have definitely made use of a firearm for self-defence. Not to mention that the Guarani were also equipped with silver daggers, so it made things even worse.

With a loud roar that reminded of a wounded bear in the mountains, Taec pushed himself through and emerged from the anthill of vampires, punching and throwing them to the left and to the right. Khun cast a fleeting glance back at him and, making sure that the youngling was alright, the Thai Prince rammed his elbow into his opponent’s chin, at the same time crushing his skull with the hard tip of his katana’s hilt. After a terrible “CRACK,” the vampire fell to the ground unconscious. It didn’t kill him, but gave Khun some precious time before the wound heal completely.

They didn’t want to kill anybody risking an international scandal, and this confrontation was definitely unfortunate what with the sun about to rise and all.

Breaking an opponent’s arm and kicking another one hard in the nose, Joon stole a worried glance at the east. They were out in the open, and there was definitely nowhere to hide. He was about to smash a very much so dishevelled vampire into the ground, when he heard a scary growl that sent shivers down his back. It sounded like a wounded tiger, and Joon looked back over his shoulder to see two female vampires perched on Taec’s shoulders, clawing, biting, and sucking at him like there was no tomorrow.

They had taken off his jacket and bit through his white shirt, staining it and ripping it. Taecyeon snatched the vampire on his left shoulder at her long hair and tore her off him without any second thought, growling and roaring, ignoring that her claws and fangs had been plunged so deep into his skin that bits and pieces of his flesh were also torn along with the vampire. Taec paid no heed when it came to fighting and bringing down his opponent; he never cared too much about what would become of him in the end.

Before Taec could lose half of his right shoulder, Khun wasted no time: crushing another vampire’s jaw with his knee, Khun dashed towards Taec and, with one light swing of his arm, he chopped the female vampire’s head off. It rolled away towards her peers, as her limp body fell off Taec and flopped to the ground.

“It’s not even an official duel, you bitch,” Khun spat out obviously infuriated. “How dare you bite him?”

“Khun, I’m fine,” Taec winced at the pain in his shoulders as his flesh began growing back little by little.

The Guarani vampires, seeing that one of them had been slain, started howling like mad. Their screams and cries rang even louder than the thunder of the cannonry a few miles east.

“No, you’re not,” Khun cut off, slinging Taec’s right arm over his shoulders and pointing the tip of his sword at the Guarani who were already prowling towards them. “Hyung!” he called. “Regroup!”

“Wha--? Oh crap, hang on!” leaving his opponents in medias res, at the last moment, Joon managed to grab a hold of Khun’s foot, as the Thai shot up into the sky with his left arm around Taecyeon’s waist.

The Guarani were left speechless. They were so astounded they forgot how to howl. They clearly didn’t expect this to happen, and none of them was experienced enough to follow the trespassers up.

Khun went up high enough to see the entire area. Even the battle that was going on at the Campo Via pocket could be easily seen from where he hovered suspended in the air. Joon let go of Khun’s foot and pushed himself up to his eye-level. Lee Joon was old enough to easily float around and even fly, but he could never match Nichkhun’s speed. After all, natural was a natural.

Joon eyed Taec’s wounds.

“I didn’t expect them to bite,” he said as warm wind played with his hair. Barely any of the strands moved because most of them were smeared with blood and stuck together. Taec coughed.

“Keeping in mind the scarce resources, I’d say it’s pretty normal that they disembowel every hostile vampire that wanders into their territory,” he reasoned. “It’s unconventional, but hey…”

“Do you even feel pain?” Khun shook him frustrated, and Taec frowned at the sudden pang of agony, shooting through him like a lightning. “I appreciate your intellect and what not, but from time to time, you should think of yourself too, for crying out loud! Taec!”

“What?!” Taec whined pouting.

“There are more coming,” Joon announced watching the ground like an eagle.

“WHAT?!” both Taec and Khun exclaimed unable to believe their ears.

“And the sun is about to rise,” Joon looked back at them, the usual mischief gone from his face and his voice. He looked dead serious now, and really resembled someone who was almost 600 years old. “We really have no other choice but to go down and repel them until the sunrise. They will have no other way, but to go underground as well, so we will have time to recuperate.”

“And then what?” Khun asked. Joon shrugged.

“Run?” he offered, looking around for a better place to land. “Let’s go down over there,” he pointed his sword at a relatively empty patch of plain, further from their initial battle ground. “We’ll have more time before they come,” he glanced at the youngest. “Sorry about that, Taec.”

“Don’t mind me,” he said energetically, and Khun wanted to slap him. Joon demonstrably gripped his sword.

“It’s different now,” he announced, his voice steely and relentless. “Spare no one,” and he slowly hovered down, finally behaving like the elder he was.

“You heard him,” Taec poked Khun in the ribs and he had no other choice, but to go down and prepare for another encounter with the local Guarani.

Nichkhun knew they could push them back until the sunrise, but at what cost. Taecyeon was too young to go on without a feed for a long time and, considering his current blood loss, Khun was seriously worried about the youngling, even though he sucked at showing it. Whenever something like this happened, he blamed himself for being a bad mentor and guardian, and that pushed him even further into business, financial investments, and other monetary activities that would secure their coven’s future.

He knew the locals were coming from two different directions when they landed. Judging from the way they moved, the backup was even bigger than the main party, and they were approaching from the human battle direction, so it was pretty obvious they have been feasting when their kin suddenly called for them. That also allowed him to assume that the newcomers would not be as keen to bite as the first party, but who knew.

When they clashed, he left all of his thoughts behind as his senses sharpened, and he pulled his imprint senses up from the depths of his head. No matter what happened, he had to keep that upper right tooth safe.

It was an instinct that pushed them further. They didn’t have to hold back anymore, and actually slaying your enemy was easier than only slowing them down with injuries. However, that also meant the Guarani weren’t holding back either, and with their sheer numbers, it was hard to get out of the fight unscathed.

Their circle was growing narrower and narrower as the Guarani pushed them together, back to back once again, making it extremely hard to fighting without wounding each other. The sky was already turning pink in the east, and Khun considered going up once again. Holding back until the sunrise wasn’t such a bad idea, but it seemed very unlikely to work.

He was about to grab Taecyeon and fly out of there, nudging Joon to come along, when he heard it coming. The air was full of bloody stench. They all reeked, and then it was carried from the battlefield by the wind, so he couldn’t smell it, but he heard it.

A very light footwork, and fast. It was a vampire, but not a Guarani. Instead of running, the vampire was jumping forward, and it felt slightly familiar. But he couldn’t put his finger on it, until a Guarani that was about to grab Taec at his throat was sliced in half, and the two parts of his body separated and flopped apart onto the ground.

Everyone froze.

A figure, clad in dark greyish green military trousers and heavy boots kneeled in front of them, with one knee onto the ground, and a silver katana clutched tight in the right hand, frozen high in the air after the blow. There was an equally dark green military shirt, a vest and a jacket, and a big dark cape on shoulders far too small for a soldier, and a ponytail of brown hair that looked like it had just recently been trimmed. Khun narrowed his eyes when the person looked up.

“ _Hola_!” she said with a bright smile that died down immediately when she saw the state they were in and who they were. Khun’s eyes widened. “Nichkhun?!” she gasped.

 

\-------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me a while to put this up because November is a terribly busy time for me (more than the usual lol orz), I also had to delete and rewrite pretty big chunks of the Edo Japan and the Edinburgh scenes.  
> I got rid of several plot-lines that eventually didn't lead anywhere, and just intensified several aspects of character relationships.  
> Somehow, the characters in this edit are becoming very... raw, for the lack of better word. But I hope it's for the best.
> 
> I am very pleasantly surprised to see new subscriptions and bookmarks. Thank you!!^^  
> Let's keep on fighting until the end. I need to finish this until 2PM's comeback, lol.
> 
> 🖤 
> 
>  
> 
> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Egle0702)  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Egle0702)


	17. #17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🔷 What happens in Paraguay, stays in Paraguay.  
> 🔷 Junho, the sexy scientist.

_Paraguay, 1930s_

 

“You?!” he was at a loss. “How…”

“No time,” she cut him off, scanning each and every one of them until she focused on Joon, who was so smeared in blood you could hardly see a clear patch of his skin by now.

“You!” her intense gaze made him gulp, not to mention he was perplexed to see a foreign vampire speaking Korean… in Paraguay. “You’re from Joseon, aren’t you?”

“I am… how?” he was not quite sure what was going there.

“No time,” she got to her feet and snatched Joon at his wrist, dragging him away. “They will follow.”

“Huh?!” Joon got surprised by the sheer force that pulled him along. She was a lot stronger than she looked.

“Khun, you take care of the youngling!” she ordered over her shoulder as the remaining Guarani certainly followed her and Joon further from the main battleground.

There was something about her scent (or the lack of it) that lured them, and they tagged along straight into their doom because whatever she unleashed onto them over there, Taec was sure it came from the days of past.

He stood watching the stranger and Joon chop through the Guarani is a perfect sync. Whatever she had told Joon right before the slaughter (because that’s what it was, the Guarani really stood no chance against that), it certainly struck a particular string. Joon was fighting with such an enthusiasm one could have easily thought he had been brought back to his favourite Joseon times. However, rather than Joon, Taecyeon was more surprised by the stranger’s techniques. It was not Western. It was so fluid, easy, and light… and familiar that…

“Her technique…” he uttered slowly sitting down on the ground because it was a bit too hard for him to stand. He had lost too much blood. “It’s a bit like Chansung’s…”

Khun squatted next to him, keeping his eyes on the battle in front of them.

“That’s because it is Chansung’s,” he said.

Taecyeon looked at him perplexed.

“What?”

“Meet Emma,” sarcasm was brimming over. “Chansung’s best friend.”

“Since when?” Taecyeon was obviously unconvinced. For all he knew, Chansung and Nichkhun were the chummiest people in the whole wide world.

“Since long before I was turned,” Khun sighed and rolled up his sleeve, exposing his pale forearm. His body hair stood up as the shiver ran down his arm. It was too close to sunrise, and his skin protested against being exposed to the early morning twilight.

“I don’t need it,” Taec looked away from him, even though his throat was scorching dry, and the sole sight of Khun’s skin made his stomach tumble over.

“Ok Taecyeon,” Khun’s serious voice pierced through the noise of the battle, and Taec forced himself to look back at him. “You are only 49 years old and…”

“71,” Taec corrected him hastily and Khun heaved a frustrated sigh.

“Human years don’t count!” he stressed pushing his forearm into Taec’s face. “You’re too young to carry on after such a huge blood loss, so you either take it, or you’ll be so famished by the time you wake up that you will try draining the first moving thing you see. Which probably will be me…”

“That happened only once,” Taec pouted. “And it was because I blacked out for a month!”

Khun clonked him in the forehead.

“And that’s why younglings should not black out for more than 2 days!” he clicked his tongue. “Now drink!” he pressed his skin to Taec’s lips. “Five gulps at least, or else I’ll…”

He didn’t have to do some more convincing, because hunger and imprint combined was a force that even Ok Taecyeon couldn’t fight with. His sharp teeth sank into Khun’s flesh, making the elder scrunch his nose at the pain, but he kept calm and waited patiently until Taecyeon took exactly five slow gulps and then pulled away after having licked Nichkhun’s wound clean.

Khun gave him a reproachful eye. He had expected Taec to take a lot more.

“You’re a stubborn kitty, aren’t you?” he mused.

“And you’re a devoted puppy, aren’t you?” Taec offered and Khun almost choked.

“Alright, point taken,” giving a genuine smile, Khun actually considered ruffling Taec’s hair, but it was drenched in blood to the point it had already dried stiff and stood on ends in an odd dishevelled do.

“Now what?” Taec asked feeling slightly better.

“Do we even have time to dig into the ground?” they heard Joon wonder as he came back from the battlefield, cleaning his sword into his sleeve. There was not a single Guarani left and he didn’t even feel too bad about this. They were the first to attack anyways.

“Not really,” Emma was right behind him. She gave her katana one strong jolt shaking the blood off, and then hid it inside the sheath in one fluid motion. Untying the strings of her ankle-length military cape, she took it off and threw it at the men. “It’s not much, but cover yourself up, I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?” Joon stared perplexed. “The sun is rising!”

“I’ll be fine, just…” she eyed them all, a few stray strands playing in the wind around her ears and forehead. “If I’m not back in five minutes, dig in.”

“Wow, this material is a lot thicker than the usual,” Taec fingered the cape, carried away by the novelty of it as Joon sat down with his legs crossed next to them, ducking under the cloak. “Is it custom made?”

“Don’t go,” Khun said suddenly as he got up and caught Emma at her wrist, right when she was about to dash for it. She stopped and turned around to see a handsome yet serious face, all of his attention focused solely on her. “If you die… Chansung will kill me,” he declared. “Or it will kill Chansung. And then it will kill me. And I’m selfish. I want to live.”

Emma stared at the strong and elegant male hand clutching at her wrist; a hand that was beginning to burn and toast in the early morning sun. Her right cheek tingled with a very unpleasant sensation, but she gave him a genuine smile.

“Khun, I appreciate that, but please hide,” she pushed him back onto the ground and covered his head with the cape, scanning them all while holding at the edges of the thick material. “Humans won’t come by. They’re too preoccupied with their war. Stay put,” she said and wrapped the edges of the cape around them before the first dazzling ray of the morning sun could reach them.

“Well, this is kind of embarrassing… but interesting,” Taecyeon pointed out as they sat huddled next to each other because the cape used by a small female was indeed… small.

“I should’ve stopped her,” Khun stared at his hands. The sunburn was still there because with the blood loss his wounds weren’t that fast to heal.

“Hey,” Joon patted him on the shoulder. “I know when I see someone older than me, and she definitely is, so I think she knows what she’s doing… How do you know her, by the way, and why does she speak our language? Who is she?”

“She’s… a friend,” Khun nodded. Suddenly, his initial annoyance and frustrations regarding Emma’s personality disappeared. Perhaps his first impression had really been wrong. “To put it simply… you mess with her, you mess with Chansung… and vice versa.”

“I see,” Joon wiggled his eyebrows and earned a kick in his shin from Khun. “Hey!”

“Taec, you’re ok?” Nichkhun totally ignored Joon and focused on his youngest, who had his head resting on Nichkhun’s shoulder.

“I’m just…” Taec’s low voice sounded like it was coming from somewhere underground.

“Dizzy, I know,” Khun sighed out of a very old habit; his left hand rose to stroke Taec’s hair absent-mindedly. He didn’t seem to care about the blood anymore. “We need to feed you once the sun is down. You can black out, we’ll keep watch.”

“I’ll stay up,” he insisted shivering slightly. Even though the cape was very thick, he could still feel that there was just a very thin layer of fabric between him and the sun, and it instinctively made him shrivel inside.

It made him nauseous, and even though Taec really hated digging into the ground, he wanted to hide, and it made him hate himself even more because he felt weak against his nature. He hated being helpless. Just when he was about to start picking at the small patch of ground beside him, he suddenly felt a whole lot better and it made him perk up.

“What?” Joon also looked up.

Khun pushed the cape away and he was greeted by… darkness. Well, it wasn’t entirely dark, but they were enclosed in a relatively dark space where not a single ray of light could get in. And there were two bodies lying on the ground. Two human bodies.

Nichkhun got up and walked to the wall to touch it. It was a very sturdy canvas. He looked up to see that the ceiling was high enough for him to stand up straight. A military tent. He almost laughed. Genius. The only thing they had to do now was avoid the sun when the tent was opened and that’s it. They could even crash for the day if someone stood watch.

He noticed the entrance open and he dragged Taec away from the band of sunlight right when Emma wobbled in carrying two more men. She laid them down carefully, closed the entrance to the tent, and flopped exhausted onto the ground. Half of her face was intensely red and the skin was bound to shrivel, but it wasn’t as scorched as one would’ve expected it to be.

“How do you do that?” Joon asked amazed, keeping in mind that she didn’t burst into flames.

“I don’t know, I just do,” she closed her eyes. They were very sensitive after being exposed to the sun for so long. “I’ve always been like this, sometimes becomes handy,” she smiled and pointed at the humans.

“They’re not dead. Just unconscious. Snatched them at the camp, and I’m going to bring them back once you feed, so try your best not to kill them. And…” she paused and tried to swallow because it was a bit hard to talk as the flow of air stuck in her dry throat. “And… it would be better if you blacked out for the day. I’ll stand watch. You obviously got your own share of wounds, and you need to sleep on them. These two are for the youngling,” she pointed at the two men she brought the last. “He seems starved."

“What about you?” Khun asked rolling up the sleeve of one of the men, when Taec pulled the man’s backpack off his shoulders and began rummaging through it. There was no end to his curiosity. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“I’ll be fine,” Emma closed her eyes trying to pump up her metabolism just a little bit. She hadn’t fed for weeks and spiking things up fast would've been a bad idea. “I was scouting for Shell when I noticed the Guarani vamps rounding up and getting away from the camp, so I decided to follow and well… what do you know…”

“Shell?” Khun gasped before digging into the man’s forearm (it was easier not to kill them when one chose to bite the arm rather than the neck). “Royal Dutch Shell?”

“Yes, why?”

“Khun has stocks,” Taecyeon explained examining something that looked like a tube of ointment of some sorts.

His upbringing still didn’t allow him to feed before the elders have fed. Joon was already licking his human’s wound clean. Being the eldest, he wasted no time when there was no time to waste. And he knew he was still responsible for their little group, so he was going to black out immediately to regain his strength fast for the rest of their journey.

“Is Shell searching for oil in Paraguay?” Taec asked.

“They’re backing up the Paraguay army thinking there might be resources in the Gran Chaco,” she said.

“Are there any?” Khun asked wiping his mouth and carefully putting the man’s arm back to his side.

“Nope,” she shook her head.

“Figures,” Khun scoffed and looked around to see that Joon had blacked out already.

He felt somewhat irked by the lack of manners from their elder, but then again, it had been a nerve-racking morning, and he wondered whether he should black out as well.

He didn’t need to say anything when Emma urged him to sleep, saying that she would take care of Taec and the humans, so Khun just laid down on the ground and blacked out immediately without any second thoughts. Before falling into deep sleep, he caught himself wondering why he suddenly trusted her so much, but he just let it slip.

Emma waited until Taec fed a little bit of each of the two humans, and then she dragged all four of them out of their tent, and Taec anxiously waited for her to be back, which didn’t take long. However, her having gone into the daylight for the second time on the same day meant that now her right cheek was basically scorched and her hands suffered severe burns, but she didn’t complain.

Flopping next to Taec with a change of fresh clothes, she gave him a friendly smile.

“We haven’t been introduced properly,” she offered him her hand. “I’m Emma.”

“Nice to meet you, Emma,” he shook her hand slightly hesitantly. “My name is Taecyeon.”

“Nice to meet you, Taecyeon,” she beamed despite her burns. “I hope these clothes will be alright for you,” she gave him a fresh set of the Paraguay army uniform. “Yours seems rather… deplorable at the moment.”

“Yes,” Taec chuckled, pulling at his ripped white shirt. “Thank you,” and he wiggled out of his jacket and shirt, brushing the dried blood off his arms and chest. He certainly couldn’t wash here, but at least the dried vampire blood was very easy to wipe off.

“Are you Khun’s?” she asked watching the young vampire dress up. Must’ve been no older than 22 when he was turned.

“I’ve got his imprint, but he didn’t turn me,” Taec said pushing his arms into the sleeves and surprisingly, it fit. Emma had a good eye for picking clothes even in daylight. “It’s a long story.”

“Oh, so you’re just like Chansung and Khun then…” she nodded unbuttoning her jacket and taking it off because with all the burns trying to heal it was rather stuffy and itchy.

“Pretty much,” Taec nodded, watching her struggle with buttons and laces. “Here, let me help you,” he moved closer with his shirt still open, and his nimble fingers were quick to unfasten every button and lace from her jacket and vest. “How come you know Chansung?”

“Oh, you’re fast,” she commended patting Taec on the cheek and then getting out of her vest. “Thank you. Well, I met him back in Joseon… that was… a long time ago,” Emma chuckled and then cringed. “Ow…” her face hurt a lot more than she initially thought it would. “I guess I overestimated myself…”

“Don’t move,” Taec ordered with his hands open wide as if telling her to stay and Emma did actually freeze.

She curiously watched the youngling go back to the backpack that she had forgotten to bring back to the human camp (darn it). He pulled out a tube of medicine and shuffled back to her, kneeling right in front of the female vampire.

“It’s human medicine,” she pointed out the obvious.

“Yes, but we’re not that different, we burn all the same, so this at least should ease the pain,” Taec explained patiently in his low soothing voice, unscrewing the tube and squeezing odourless ointment onto his fingers. “Here,” he carefully touched her face and spread the cream evenly across the burn. It felt cooling and did will the pain away somewhat, well who would’ve thought…

“You’re terribly good with delicate tasks,” Emma noted, thinking that this young one was a great addition to their coven. “Can you also sew?”

“There’s nothing I can’t do,” Taec wiggled his eyebrows making her chuckle again. “Where are you from?” he asked.

“England,” she offered and added. “1200s.”

“Wow, you’re old,” that sounded like a compliment and Taec pulled back to take a better look at her. She didn’t look older than 19 though… or 22… Hell, he didn’t know, people used to age faster back in the days. “And I love England, I always go there at least once a year.”

“Really?” her eyebrows rose in curiosity. “Why?”

“It’s cloudy,” Taec deadpanned and Emma actually snorted.

“Figures,” she raised her hand to touch the burn and Taec caught it pulling her hand away.

“I wouldn’t do that,” he said. “The cream will soak in soon because the vampire skin is generally dry, just give it a second…” he looked down at her petite fingers, finding it hard to believe these delicate hands could wield a katana with such deadly force. “You have… beautiful hands,” he commended.

Emma angled her head eyeing him curiously.

It seemed that this young vampire balanced between a complete stoicism and emotional abyss. In a way, she found him very much like Khun, but they were like the opposite sides of the same coin. Khun was very emotional, but he was an expert in hiding his feelings and protecting himself in this thick shield of his; while this Taecyeon boy here was more comfortable with the logical and practical setting, and it seemed that he thought showing his feelings was not appropriate. And yet he was so eager to swallow everything down that things would just come back crashing at him at a locomotive speed, and it would eventually crush him, leaving him breathless.

She blinked.

Why, being more than 700 years old sure did things to you. Not only her sense of smell… The ability to read people has developed as well.

Emma watched him thinking of nothing in particular until she realized that his unbuttoned shirt irked her somewhat. So, she pulled her hands out of his bronze palms and reached out for his shirt, but right when she was about to button it up, he once again took a hold of her wrists and then glanced at her from under his dark eyebrows.

The look in his sharp eyes was somewhat obscured by his black hair, but it was obvious what he was going for. It was her. So, Emma wasn’t surprised at all, when he leaned closer and gave her a tender kiss without any further ado.

He felt earthy. And not because he’s been digging himself into the ground for the past week.

There was something warm and earthy about him that almost made her feel safe and relaxed. It was more than reasonable that she closed her eyes and kissed him back.

She liked it that he didn’t hurry. He started with small pecks and nips along her lower lip until he eventually deepened the kiss pulling her closer.

He was careful with her burns, and she slowly traced her fingertips around big wounds on his shoulders that looked like someone had torn his flesh out just like that. Everything was slowly growing back. That meant he was already out of shirt, and she stifled a moan when Taecyeon step by step worked his way down her neck, and then collarbone, and his hands… Those hands were not that much to look at, but they could work wonders.

He felt her nuzzling along his neck and he mentally prepared for the sting of the bite, when she suddenly grew stiff in his hands, her entire frame freezing as if on command. Delicate fingers gripped his shoulders tight. Instinctively Taecyeon’s fingers began drawing soothing circles over her ribs.

“Wow, okay,” she breathed along his neck and slowly pulled away. “Okay,” Taecyeon felt relieved she didn’t look scared or worried, but there was a distant and confused look on her face.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked calmly, his low voice sending shivers down her spine.

“No,” she slowly shook her head and scoffed slightly, obviously surprised by her own reaction. “Huh…”

“Is everything alright?” he carefully touched her healing cheek, noticing how confused she looked. Suddenly this formidable warrior changed into a lost youngling, and he found it astounding.

“Yes, I just…” she looked down, holding onto his hand. “I just never thought it would matter…” she played with his fingers and Taec waited patiently. “I don’t actually roll with our kind, so I seldom run into something like this,” she gestured to herself and the fact that she was actually sitting in Ok Taecyeon’s lap. “But wow,” she scoffed again and laughed with a poorly masked disdain. “Wow… I guess you could say I have someone else on my mind, huh…”

“Are they even alive?” Taecyeon asked although her last sentence was clearly just an afterthought.

“I don’t know,” Emma shook her head. “Haven’t been to Joseon ever since.”

“Joseon?” his eyes opened wide. “Maybe I know them?”

“I seriously doubt that,” she chuckled and kindly patted his cheek. “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this.”

“Because I’m a complete stranger and yet I’m related to Chansung, so it gives you a ground to confide in me,” Taec suggested without blinking, and Emma actually laughed.

“You’re right, I suppose,” she touched his cheek again. “That’s just between you and me, though.”

“I’m mute as a grave,” Taec said and then mulled over it. “Well… figuratively speaking.”

Emma giggled.

“You’re really funny and nice, Ok Taecyeon,” she hugged him. “Thank you. And sorry it didn’t lead anywhere.”

“Nah,” he mumbled with his chin still on her shoulder. “I should be slapped for hitting on someone like you. You’re way out of my league.”

“I’ll let you sleep,” she smiled when he pulled back. “Because I don’t want Khun to hate me even more,” she helped him get back into his shirt and this time, she really buckled it up.

“Khun seldom hates people,” Taec pointed out. “He just has a hard time admitting that he likes them.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Emma chuckled watching Taecyeon finally lay down onto the ground, but he didn’t close his eyes immediately, and he still watched her intently with his shiny cat-like eyes. “Sleep tight,” she urged him.

“Mhm,” he hemmed closing his eyes and drifting away into the deep vampire sleep without any difficulties. After all, he was exhausted.

Emma sat up at the wall with her eyes closed.

She knew she used to overthink things, but what was there to overthink, when it just didn’t feel right? Her brain and the better part of her were screeching at her, calling her stupid and irrational for having lost the chance, but something deep down just didn’t…

So instead of blaming her own habit to overthink all her problems, she put the blame on this Sangdoo-what’s-his-face guy, who had left her hanging some 500 years ago. Of course, that was all his fault. His fault she couldn’t even think of bedding anyone of their kind. She hated him. A lot.

Were she to meet him again, she would rip his head off and then burn him and… She hoped he wasn’t dead though. She really loved imagining meeting him again and actually kicking his butt and… and… well, come to think of it, that would’ve required some effort because that scent. There wasn’t a day she wouldn’t remember that tantalizing scent and the sensations it had put her through back then. It was…

She opened her eyes feeling slightly disturbed by the images in her mind.

It was scorching hot inside the tent and she guessed it was late in the afternoon already. She then noticed that Khun was already awake. He was watching her, as if trying to figure out what she was really all about. He cast a fleeting glance at Taecyeon sleeping peacefully next to Joon, the youngling’s wounds almost completely healed.

“I guess…” Khun concentrated on her again. “You’re not as annoying as I initially thought.”

Emma wanted to laugh out loud.

“You’re very jealous, do you know that?” she giggled.

“Imprint,” Khun shrugged off. Emma shook her head.

“Khun… you know that Chansung loves you,” she said softly. “What other proof do you need?”

“He loves you too,” Khun pointed out, managing to keep bitter tones out of that.

“Then, I guess we should love each other as well, no?” Emma raised her eyebrows. Khun almost retched.

“That is a stark logical fallacy,” he declared and looked away, getting up and walking over to check on Taecyeon. The youngest of the coven really looked a lot better than a few hours ago.

“Thank you,” he said after a few seconds of silence. “For everything you have done today,” Khun turned around to look at her and for the first time in perhaps three centuries, he offered a genuine smile for someone outside of their coven. “I really appreciate that.”

Emma smiled back.

 

 

_Edinburgh, present day_

 

He stood under a rushing current of water, feeling multiple warm streams flow down his face, neck, and back. They separated meeting natural obstacles and curves and then gathered back together, running down his thighs and calves.

Junho knew that technically, the water was barely lukewarm, but given his low body temperature he didn’t feel shivery, even though there was still no heating in the apartment. He scoffed slightly, looking up and focusing on white tiles in front of him. Who would’ve thought vampires were that low maintenance. He has been awake for a few days in a row and it finally was taking a toll on him. He felt tired, but this fatigue was different from what he remembered from his human days.

Ha, another refutation of the countless allegations one sees in the vampire books – his human life memories were crystal clear as if it had been yesterday. With more than half a year away from Korea, he was beginning to feel homesick. He missed his family, and the thing that made it worse was that he couldn’t go back. The 21st century was too technologized to stroll around in the streets after your own “death” unnoticed.

His mind was getting heavy with depressing thoughts, so he focused on something else.

His fatigue. It was really different. His eyes and head didn’t hurt, and there was no heaviness around the temple area. There was just this weird fluttery feeling in his muscles that was sort of pulling him down, telling him to stop and black out to recharge. It was like his brain still needed time to readjust to the new cycle, and it was hard to shake off the nap time habit. Actually, it was rather strange how everything seemed to be concentrated in his head, even though according to the general conception, the vampire brain was supposed to be... well… dead.

Junho shook his head, turning the hot water tap on a little bit more. His skin reacted to the temperature change immediately as a pleasant gooseflesh spread all over his body. He sighed closing his eyes and reclined back his head.

He had to stay awake. He was really close to finding out the truth, and he was getting sick of giving negative answers to Jang Wooyoung’s messages (most of them were short and laconic “Are you done yet?”), so Junho was ready to push himself to the limit to get this task off his back.

Not that he didn’t appreciate it. He actually was partially thankful to Wooyoung for putting him through this, because he learned quite a lot by himself. He knew now why Yena preferred to figure things out on her own, instead of looking for the answers in a book. Theory was good, but practice was everything. His presumption was right – everything was in the blood. Instead of trying to find more common things between Wooyoung and Yena’s blood, Junho delved into the vampire blood studies in general. He was fascinated by its composition.

Biologically, it was very similar to the human blood except for the fact that the vampire red blood cells’ composition was incomplete. The difference was actually very slight, especially considering the general asymmetric disposition of major lipids, but it was driving him nuts.

Obviously, the lack of proteins and lipids was not big enough to make them all die out, but it was significant enough to turn them into something that was not exactly human. And since they haven’t been born with that (vampirism was acquired after all), Junho came to the conclusion that the vampire venom was strong enough to change (destroy or unlock, the term was a matter of personal choice) one’s DNA. If that was the case, then the venom was as powerful as radiation.

One thing Junho couldn’t understand though was the connection between the missing protein chains and Wooyoung’s urge to drain Yena dry. He was sure that it had something to do with it, but he couldn’t set a pattern. He’d gone through his, Sunye’s and Wooyoung’s blood, and none of them had the same set of membrane protein strings missing.

What was more; there were billions of blood cells out there and even more possible variables of the incomplete blood composition, so Junho inferred that every single vampire on Earth could have a unique blood line. Eventually, it only confirmed the general vampire belief that blood was your main identification tool, more important than a fingerprint.

Junho hit his head onto the tiled wall just below the mounted shower nozzle, letting the water fall straight onto his nape. He knew the answer was near. It was like searching for a thing one has left in the most obvious place and not finding it. The base of the oil lamp is dark, as a Korean proverb would suggest.

Figures. The brightest ideas would never come to you when you needed them the most. Maybe he really should just go and sleep on it.

He certainly heard her enter the bathroom although he wouldn’t have expected her to barge into the shower booth. But she did. Junho turned his head left to see the shower door slide open.

Sunye had a terrible slash across her face and her body was set with cuts and bruises – a definite effect of silver and wooden weapons, not to mention the obligatory drape of blood from head to toes. Junho didn’t know why, but his initial thought was that he hoped she hadn’t ruined the carpet. He realized he was supposed to be worried about her current state, but somehow, the absolutely serene look on her face told him it was no time to panic. Instead, he just reached out gripping at her delicate wrist and pulled her inside the booth right under the warm current.

The moment the streams of water touched her face, it washed away the first layer of dried blood and it flowed down into the drain in narrow dirty rivers of brown. He cupped her face with his left hand, brushing with his thumb against her cheek, scraping the remaining blood away. Sunye was looking down. There were water droplets clinging to her eyelashes.

“I told you hunting at daytime was a bad idea,” he uttered in a low soft voice; there was not a single drop of reproach in what he said. “They always target the impatient ones.”

“I got rid of them,” Sunye looked away from him, taking a step towards the nozzle and letting the current fall straight onto her face. Junho stared at her bruised back for a while before taking a loofa that had been hanging suspended on a faucet, and brushing it lightly against her skin. A layer of dried blood fell down to her feet and flowed down the drain.

If she really had taken care of them all, that explained why she looked like a mess. It was actually easier to run away from the hunters than to confront them. He didn’t need to ask whether she had been careful enough not to expose herself, because Sunye was even more meticulous about that than he was. So, he didn’t really need to worry, even though he sometimes caught himself thinking he had no right to do that. After all, she was older and more experienced. However, Junho couldn’t help it; he must’ve had an oppa-syndrome.

Dropping the loofa down, he ran his hands across her back, brushing softly against her skin and rubbing the last remains of dirt and blood away. There were only cuts and bruises left, but considering she had obviously fed (a lot) they were bound to close and heal fast.

Water ran down the skin making it glisten as his hands rested on her waist. Junho couldn’t really tell whether his hands were that big or her constitution that small, but her frame suddenly looked so fragile that he involuntarily pulled her close, circling his arms around her. He couldn’t admit it out loud, but he was glad she came back alive. With her constantly on his mind, Junho was seriously beginning to wonder whether he was falling in love.

Another question was whether it was really him or simply his blood calling. No one has ever actually told him, but Junho had a hunch that vampires were highly dependable on the way their blood reacted to every little thing. That certainly shrank the importance of free will, and Junho couldn’t help but think that vampires were rather pitiful creatures.

Sunye rested her head on Junho’s left shoulder and gave a soft sigh. Despite the fact they didn’t really need to breathe, sighs still remained a significant tool to express one’s emotions. Junho closed his eyes and buried his nose in the bend of her neck, taking her in.

“I like it here,” she said.

“I happen to agree,” he breathed against her skin. “I especially appreciate that the floor’s not slippery.”

She chuckled, her shoulders quivering slightly.

“Not the shower, smarty pants,” Sunye countered. “I like it HERE,” she stressed as he felt the tips of her fingers trace down the outline of his hip bone. It was a soft and fleeting touch, but it reverberated within his brain a lot harder than the water stream pelting down on his skin.

She felt him smile into her skin as the rumble of his (surprisingly) low voice rippled through her bones.

“Mr No Pants at the moment though,” he mumbled. For one nanosecond, she saw him as a little kid whom she wanted to smack over his head.

“You’re going to rub it in, aren’t you,” Sunye smiled turning around and wrapping her slick arms around his neck. She had to look up quite a bit to meet his eyes. The expression on his face told her that she could have definitely worked more on her word choice.

“Do you really want me to elaborate on that?” he smirked cocking his eyebrow and leaned down to her, before Sunye decided to punch him in the guts.

He was a hairbreadth away from her moist lips when it disappeared.

It felt like someone pulled a curtain all over his brain and for a second, he thought he lost his eyesight. But just like a person gets used to a dim environment after the lights get turned out, Junho got the hang of this new sensation as well. However, he froze the very same instant. The cello was gone.

Sunye was suddenly fully alert seeing his dazed and confused expression. She frowned, letting go of his neck and cupping his face with her delicate hands, making him focus on her, because Junho was definitely not there.

“What’s wrong?” she asked emphatically, looking him straight in the eye. Junho blinked, finally realizing he was still in the shower, and the water was streaming down on them. He suddenly wanted to turn it off. It was such a waste.

“It’s gone,” he said, not quite recognizing his own voice. It sounded strange and distant.

“What is?” insisted Sunye, knowing that she had to get it out of him. Notwithstanding the fact he was a very bright vampire, Junho was still a youngling, and she knew the kind of issues one had to go through in the first years. She had to be patient.

“The imprint,” Junho frowned, clasping her hands and pulling them down. He looked away. “Chansung is gone,” he said; his voice full of doubt and disbelief. Chansung was… and yet he wasn’t. Sunye frowned.

“If your hyung was really gone, you would be writhing in indescribable pain in this very shower booth,” she said patiently.

“I know,” Junho blinked and turned the faucet off, avoiding her eyes. He couldn’t put his finger on it. The shower booth was full of vapour, although none of it was rising from their cool bodies.

“Is he really gone?” she gave a more specific question and Junho concentrated on the peculiar sensation inside his head, while Sunye opened the door and grabbed two big towels from the rack right next to the booth.

“It’s like,” Junho stared at his feet as Sunye covered his shoulders with a thick towel, and pushed him out of the booth, wrapping another towel around herself. “I can tell he’s there somewhere, it’s like he’s behind a curtain and I can’t reach out for him.”

“I think I know what that is,” Sunye said assuredly.

“You do?” Junho finally perked up to notice he was being led out of the bathroom, his wet feet sloshing against the wooden floor, as she steered him straight into the living-room with her hands on his shoulders, and pushed him down to sit on the sofa.

“Yes,” she plopped in front of him, the water dripping from her wet hair, but neither of them cared.

The room was really bright because it’s been a cloudy day and the curtains were not drawn. Sunye could see her own reflection in the water drop that lingered suspended at the tip of Junho’s nose.

“I mean…” she looked him directly in the eye. “It might also be something else, but so far it’s the only thing I know that fits the description.”

“Tell me,” his fingers found her hand and gave it light squeeze as Junho watched her with an intense gaze in his eyes.

We’re so ruining the sofa, Sunye mused before gathering her thoughts in a decent order. It was rather hard to explain it for someone who hasn’t been part of the nocturnal world for a long time. For some it was still magic, while Junho definitely believed in science.

“It’s called Shadow,” she swallowed non-existent saliva. “It’s a kind of a state. Like a trance. I suppose it’s like another dimension of consciousness. Two or more minds become one and they relive certain episodes of their lives… Well, at least one side does relive while the other acquires new knowledge.”

“How so?” Junho’s eyebrows knotted in a frown. The idea didn’t seem too far-fetched to him, but he still found it confusing.

“It’s like…” Sunye bit on her lower lip thinking of the best way to put it. Rather than trying to describe it in some intangible notions, she decided to give an example.

“As far as I’ve heard, Korean vampires have been using Shadow for training ever since the expansion of Baekje. Let’s say one person trained under a renowned master,” she gestured with her hands to the right. “Another person wanted to train too, but the master passed away or was killed,” her hands moved to the left, her eyes concentrated on her fingertips. “However, the second person has met the master before, so he has memories of him. Since they have memories of the same master, if both of them meet and enter Shadow through the same wavelength of a common thought, the trainee can channel his memories to the new apprentice, who trains with the master in Shadow, as if it were real.

“I’ve heard that sometimes vampire siblings who had been tutored under the same maker would enter Shadow together to train with the deceased master, because Shadow reconstructs memories and details a lot better.”

“But if it’s a state of mind,” Junho figured, his hand clasping his chin. “Wouldn’t that be just mental training?”

“That’s the catch,” Sunye perked up feeling excited because she seldom found herself at the giving end. “Let’s say two cardinal points are dream and reality,” she spread her arms wide. “Even though on the outside Shadow seems more like a dream, it’s actually a lot closer to reality,” her right dream hand cut across the space and froze in front of her left reality hand at around 10 cm distance. “Shadow does take place in your head, but… so does everything else. Everything we live through depends on our senses and perception,” she looked him in the eye again. “I’ve never been put through it, but the things Shadow does to you… it’s downright bizarre, especially if you are at the receiving end…”

“Because the other person is just channelling their memories,” Junho remarked thoughtfully.

“Yes,” she nodded. “I saw seen my master do it a few decades ago, it’s uncanny. They hover suspended like marionettes, and it really looks like they’re dreaming, but once it’s over and they land down…” Sunye paused and then uttered in a way it seemed she still couldn’t believe in what her eyes had seen back then. “My master had cuts and bruises from that _mental_ spar.”

“That’s why you knew what it felt like when I described it,” Junho said thoughtfully, getting up from the sofa and drying his head with the towel.

He suddenly wondered who Chansung used to get into this Shadow thing. Was he the receiver or the channeler? And why. Who could he have common memories with? All the other imprint strings were still there, so it wasn’t anyone from their coven. Jang Wooyoung, too. He was still too weak to spend his days awake.

“Have you ever thought of trying it out yourself?” he asked absent-mindedly, shaking his head and wrapping the towel around his hips.

“No, I…” Sunye thought for a moment. “I've never had an important training I should go through no matter what… and I don’t share memories that would be that important with anyone… Our master has always taught us to avoid getting attached to others,” she focused on her toenails. “He says that relationship makes you vulnerable and dependable.”

“Well, that is true, but we are social beings… Even a vampire cannot stay alone for a very long time. It does things to you.”

“We also thought so, but I guess in the end, your maker does know best,” Sunye sighed. Junho was quick to catch small inconsistencies in her words.

“We?” he frowned. “What happened?”

Sunye hugged her knees, the towel enveloping her like a tight tube dress.

“I… I had an older sister. Same maker, same imprint. “Traditional” vampire family connections… That’s why I’m here, actually, to find her killer…”

“And hand them in?” Junho’s voice got a lot softer when he sat down next to her again. All of a sudden, it was a lot easier to see why she treated a relationship like something forever wrapped in a fleeting moment.

“I can’t hand him in,” she shook her head.

“Why? Hunters?” Junho guessed.

“Authorities,” she revealed. Junho’s eyes widened.

“Execution?”

“I don’t know who, but it was a high ranking official. They just sliced her and left her there to burn in the sun,” dark red tears rimmed Sunye’s eyes like a grotesque eyeliner. “They don’t care, you know? People from high-ranking royal families sometimes slaughter ordinary vampires like us just for fun,” she was getting agitated. “Because they can't lash out on humans as much anymore, so they take it out on us…”

Junho leaned forward and embraced her tenderly, before she could say anything else. He didn’t want to see her cry. And he found her way of thinking slightly disturbing.

For all he knew, his own coven had a high-ranking official, and if all this imprint business was true, then they should’ve been at least a semi-royal clan of the Korean peninsula. But he never heard or witnessed any of his hyungs slaughtering another vampire just for fun. Something didn’t click here, but he wasn’t about to question someone who was upset. His hand soothingly stroked her shoulder.

“I know I can’t do anything,” she said into his collarbone. “I’m too young and don’t have influential friends, but my master does. Once I track them down and prove it to be successful, I’ll contact him, and he’ll know what to do. He’ll have to do something. She was his progeny after all. We’re not the chummiest gear train of a family, but even he won’t be able to deny his blood…”

Maybe I should talk about this with Chansung, Junho thought.

He wondered how she managed to track down her sister’s killer in the first place. She must’ve been a great tracker in the making. And he found it odd that her maker wasn’t concerned with what was going on with his children.

He always thought that young vampires stayed close with their masters or guardians for a long time. It only made sense for them to be supervised by someone more experienced… Even if they’re not the chummiest gear train of a family as she expressed. That’s a funny way to it say though, gear train… Heh… Junho smiled to himself. Gear train…

 

**!!!**

 

_Ding-dong~_

 

Junho looked up flabbergasted, his mouth gaping open. Why of course…

“Gear train…” he mumbled, not exactly sound of mind.

“M?” Sunye freed herself from his embrace and blinked surprised, seeing his shocked expression. “Junho?”

“Cogwheels!” he exclaimed gripping at her shoulders, his pupils darting from her left eye to the right. If he were human, he would’ve been hyperventilating by now.

“Huh?”

“You. Are. Genius!” he declared snatching her face into his hands and giving her a fervent sloppy kiss, before he dashed off to his make-shift laboratory grinning from ear to ear.

“Towel!!” Sunye pointed out, as his garment couldn’t catch up with him.

 

\---------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a lot shorter than the usual because I have been very busy T.T  
> Also, I had to re-write a good chunk of the Paraguay flashback, so it took longer than I thought.
> 
> Either way, thank you for your continuous views and kudos, and wow bookmarks and subscriptions. Thank you!^^  
> Let's keep on running!
> 
> 🖤 
> 
>  
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	18. #18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🔷 Bobby witnesses something that makes her wanna claw her eyes out, but Taecyeon is a man of duty.  
> 🔷 Junho has a scientific breakthrough.  
> 🔷 Chansung is a big fool, and Nichkhun can't help but love him.  
> 🔷 Taec takes Bobby home, and he explains why he's a man of duty.  
> 🔷 Chansung kicks the twins' asses, and Wooyoung is not happy with Junho's breakthrough.

_Dornoch_

It was just after 6pm when she got back, but keeping in mind the time of the year, the castle was already shrouded in twilight and a soft candlelight glow was shimmering in the windows. She knew that her nose was red after having run in this cold weather, but Bobby didn’t stop to catch her breath and zoomed up the stone stairs right to the main entrance.

They opened the door before she could even bang her fist on it. Bobby wasn’t exactly sure whether this place had a door bell, so she was glad to be let in. Her first instinct was to kick off her boots, but then she realized no one cared that you stomped on clean carpets with dusty soles, so she focused on the middle-aged man, who had opened the front door for her. There was something on his face that told her he had been dealing with vampires ever since he was a child.

“Excuse me,” she cleared her throat. “I don’t suppose you happen to know whether Mr Ok Taecyeon is awake yet. I have something urgent to tell him,” she scratched her head awkwardly not quite sure what she was supposed to do with her hands.

She had been trying to call him ever since the sun went down, but the calm female voice kept on telling her that the _phone you are trying to reach is either turned off or out of radio coverage_. Since when did Ok-I-Needed-iPad-Like-Yesterday-Taecyeon keep his phone turned off?

“Young master is in the main chambers…” the man began.

“And where would that be?” Bobby flapped her eyelashes.

“That’s in the west wing, but…”

“Thank you,” and off she went.

“But I don’t think you should…!”

“It’s ok!” Bobby assured over her shoulder as she dashed up the stairs, the metal heels of her boots going clack-clack-clack as she jumped from a step to a step.

It took her a while to figure out which corridor led to the west wing, but she was rather good at finding directions, so after a few seconds of hesitating on a step in front of a long corridor that extended to the left and to the right, she turned left and whirled off.

It wasn’t long before she noticed a soft candlelight glow coming from an opened door right up front, and she slid into a stop, curling up the carpet. Giving it a few seconds so she could catch her breath, Bobby steadied herself and strode off towards the door, preparing her tirade that would start off with “Ok Taecyeon, how DARE you not to answer my calls, when I’m SLAVING my bum out there for you, do you even have an idea what a HUGE favour I’ve don…”

Her trail of thought snapped off before she could even allow these words to escape her mouth. Bobby froze on the doorstep, even though for a few seconds her brain did not comprehend exactly what she saw.

It was a wide and spacious room with thick white walls and windows so big, it looked like there was supposed to be a gate mounted into the wall, but in the end, they changed their minds and installed a window there. As a result, the farthest wall opened into a deep mountainous forest with rivers that must’ve been breath-taking during day-time.

However, Bobby’s human eyes were not good enough to discern the picturesque landscape with bright candles glowing in the room. It was more of a suite than a single room, and the furniture was moved away into the other part of the quarters, because there was nothing but piles of sheets, duvets and pillows on the floor.

And there was Taec there. Sitting. With the ends of his black hair slightly damp as if he had recently taken a shower… or maybe taken a dip in the indoor castle pool. And there he was now… Ok Taecyeon. Barefoot, in white unbuttoned shirt and simple black slacks, with that woman leeching off his neck.

Wait, she wasn’t leeching. She was… slowly and softly tracing the curve of his neck with the tip of her nose, her left hand on his right shoulder, her flawless back exposed by an intricate white gown that looked more like a white sheet that had been thrown onto her shoulders and somehow just stayed there perfectly, without a single thought of slipping down.

Bobby was fighting a squeak that got stuck inside her throat when she more likely felt rather than saw Taecyeon concentrating on her. It was surreal.

He didn’t raise his head. It was just his eyes that focused on her all of a sudden from beneath his dark eyebrows. There was something so intense in his gaze that Bobby swallowed down the lump inside her throat, turned around on her heel, and ran away without looking back. She didn’t know why she was compelled to run, and she didn’t know why she felt wronged, but she knew she would have a whole night to figure that out.

 

“You scared the girl,” Lady Kahelin noted as she pulled back from him, her dark hair cascading down her left shoulder like a mass of black diamonds.

“I’m afraid I don’t know how else I should convince her we’re not the elves and fairies she considers us to be,” Taecyeon murmured in his low throaty voice, his chest vibrating with every single word he said. He knew he was not supposed to be a chatterbox in this lady’s presence, Khun had instructed him well enough, but Taecyeon was not the person to refrain from voicing out his thoughts if he figured it necessary.

Lady Kahelin lowered her gaze staring at a patch of bronze skin on Taec’s chest, but seeing nothing in particular. She looked lost in her thoughts, her mind being miles… or perhaps, years away from here and now. Her lips curved into a gentle smile.

“You’d be surprised,” she said, her fingertips tracing the edges of the trapezius muscle on his left shoulder.

Taecyeon was itching ask more, but he didn’t want to annoy this important vampire. He wanted to do his coven good, but at the same time, he wondered why he was not supposed to chat with her. Was it a preconceived notion? Was he too young? Bullshit, she did seem really nice during the Christmas party at Amber’s. She also didn’t strike as someone who would shun conversation even now, so why…

There was a sensation of something soft, warm, and wet colliding with his skin, and Taecyeon sobered up immediately, realizing it was her tongue on his shoulder. He knew what was coming up next. His hand clutched the white sheet covering part of his foot, clenching it so hard veins bulged on the inner side of his elbow, emphasizing the faint marks where Khun bit him some time ago.

Her fangs sliced through the top layer of his skin like sharp precise needles and Taecyeon closed his eyes.

He didn’t know why she requested one of them. He wasn’t too naïve not to realize he was sent here as an offering of some sort. And he also knew that weren’t it for the assault, Nichkhun would’ve been sitting here on the floor instead.

All of this to boost the security of their coven. Just how many times Khun had to do it on his own. It’s not like he was forced to, but he was determined and stubborn enough to push through various groups and layers of the vampire society, to make sure that his family would never have it hard. Clutching the sheet harder, Taecyeon wished he had known of this sooner. Perhaps their coven had a relatively careless and affluent life, but Khun was definitely too hard on himself.

Immersing himself into his own thoughts certainly helped Taecyeon ignore the pain in his left shoulder, but a soft pressure on his chest made him come back to his senses. He peeped left surreptitiously. And blinked. The wound was licked clean, and he witnessed it close little by little, as Lady Kahelin rested her forehead on his collarbone, her fingers trembling slightly on his shoulder.

“My lady?” Taecyeon asked half-alarmed half-confused.

“He lives in you,” she breathed.

Even though her voice was as steady, Taecyeon could catch a fractional trembling. Oh, hell with the rules and courtesy, he was too curious and too knowledge-thirsty to let this slip.

“Forgive me for asking, but… who?” his eyebrows knotted in a frown and Lady Kahelin sat straight in front of him.

He searched her face for any sign of emotion, but a vampire as old as her was probably too adept at hiding everything inside. However, she seemed relieved when she licked her lips and then pushed the folds of her dress off her left shoulder.

Taecyeon narrowed his eyes. The soft candlelight glow illuminated a deep crescent-shaped scar on her otherwise flawless skin. There was only one way for a vampire to get that kind of scar.

“Initially…” she began… “I was going to decline Amber’s offer. I find these gatherings tedious and unnecessary. Those women eventually do end up eyeing all the boys as if each and every one of them were a showpiece at a stockbreeding fair…” she scrunched her nose with disgust. “But then she mentioned that her fiancée’s coven was closely related to the Korean Prince Taejo, and it gave me a thought… Prince Taejo… wasn’t he… a long time ago… general Jung Jihoon of Goguryeo?” she looked up at him and Taecyeon nodded, although it was a rhetorical question.

He was all ears, especially as she pronounced the Korean names without a single tinge of accent.

“So, I thought…” she continued. “Maybe… Just maybe… And when I met the head of your coven, I knew…” letting go of him, Lady Kahelin put her hands neatly into her lap and stared at them with a pensive expression on her face. “I haven’t felt my blood react so strong ever since he was gone. This mark…” she touched her scar. “It shows that I belong to Hudun. Just as he belonged to me.”

Inwardly, Taec’s jaw dropped to the floor. In reality, his mouth fell agape.

Hudun? Master Hudun? Minjun’s maker, the legendary Korean vampire who decided he had enough and burst into flames Hudun? Taecyeon suddenly wanted to flatten himself to the floor and give this woman a ceremonial bow, grovelling at her feet. Just how old was she? For all he knew, Minjun’s maker was over 3000 years old at the time of his death. And that was almost 800 years ago.

“H-how…?” he stuttered confused.

“He was the first of his kind in his tribe…” she began, her trail of thoughts going down an independent way. “The first person he bit was his woman. And then both of them were evicted. She didn’t hide from the sun in time and perished. He wandered West. I wandered East…” she closed her eyes as if trying to recall ancient times, wondering whether the young vampire would find it absolutely boring, but when she opened her eyes again, she saw Ok Taecyeon watching her with his dark shiny eyes focused solely on her, curiosity and eagerness written all over his face. He rammed his elbow into his knee, resting his chin onto his hand, giving her an obvious sign to carry on.

“Things were not what they are now,” she pulled the folds of her dress back onto her shoulder and locked her hands around her knees as if they were sitting by a campfire. “We didn’t know who or what we were. Blood relations, masters, progeny, imprints… no one knew about that. There was no such notion. There were no rules, no authorities. So naturally, there had been a lot of mistakes. Imagine imprinting on your enemy. Things like that happened during fights. Thankfully, we learned from our mistakes. It took us a long time though, because there were a lot less of us back then, and each of us had to figure things out alone.”

“Did you imprint on someone you didn’t like?” Taecyeon asked calmly, his voice as warm as liquid chocolate.

“No,” she shook her head. “Worse. I imprinted on a human from our tribe. They thought that evil spirits had taken control of me, and I was forced to stay away when they killed him, so that he wouldn’t pass on the curse,” she frowned a little bit. “It was pure torture. And for a long while, I didn’t know why I felt like it when he died.”

“It’s really possible to imprint on a human?” Taecyeon waited for her to make a pause so that he could ask the question, he didn’t dare to interrupt her. “I’ve heard of that, but never met anyone who would’ve done it.”

“That person’s blood… was different, and from what I understand something has to match…” Lady Kahelin mused thoughtfully. “So, it is rare. Very rare.”

“So, after that, you left your tribe and wandered East?”

“That happened sometime later. I was over 500 when I met Hudun. He was twice my age. It took us a while to learn to trust each other. To learn how to speak to each other. But we did have time,” she smiled reminiscing. “The thing that fascinated both of us was that each of us were from a place our people knew nothing of, and we were both considered different at home, but we… two individuals from completely different worlds, we shared something in common. Then I thought… perhaps it is not a curse, perhaps we are just a natural part of this world… He had a charisma and intuition that I found very admirable, and… we exchanged blood many times. Many… many times.”

“What made you come back? You were his mate, why did you leave?”

“Things… change,” she looked away and concentrated on one flickering candle. “We are a rather stagnant kind, but… after a millennium or so I wanted to go back and see what has become of my former home. He wanted to go back to the peninsula…

“It’s not that we started hating each other, we just moved on, saying that we will meet again if it is meant to be. The last time I heard of Hudun, he was training a young vampire called Jung Jihoon. And by the time I returned home, it was called Britannica. So, I travelled north of the Antonine Wall and stayed there for another millennium, until I felt him disappear,” Taecyeon weighed down his head at this, and she focused on him. “What happened?”

“I’ve heard that…” he cleared his throat. “Master Hudun decided to go into the sun. He gave his final imprint to Prince Tae— Jung Jihoon, and then stepped into the sun. I… I’m really sorry you didn’t get to see him again,” Taec felt genuinely sorry about it. One thousand years was already a treat for a vampire, but staying TOGETHER for a thousand years must’ve been exceptional.

Lady Kahelin gently palmed his cheek, running her thumb over his well-defined cheekbones.

“But I got to see you,” she gave him a soft smile. “And your coven. And part of Hudun is still there. A trace of blood so ancient doesn’t disappear that fast. It stays strong even after a few generations. No matter how much our world changes, the bloodline remains the same.”

Taec suddenly got the craziest idea ever.

“In the old days… there really were no pixies and elves, right?” he couldn’t help it. He was a geek down to his bones. Lady Kahelin actually found it amusing. She looked a lot younger when she laughed.

“Gods, elves, demons… we were called so many things,” she smiled. “We are what humans want us to be, what humans see in us. Back then, we were different, we were feared, but we were never the undead. The vampire definition emerged only a few centuries ago. If you asked me, I think the whole vampire concept today represents human sexual fantasies more than what we really are.”

“Then what are we?” Taec asked eager to hear the answer. The lady gave him a mysterious smile pushing her white dress folds off her right shoulder.

“Why don’t you see for yourself?” she offered raising one dark eyebrow. Taecyeon gaped.

“I can’t,” he waved his hands in front of him, dismissing her proposal. “I’m not qualified too…”

“Consider it a gift to your clan,” she caught his flailing hands calming him down, looking him straight in the eye. “And I want you to take it,” her emerald eyes bored right through him. “Take a lot. Please.”

Oh no, you did not just…

Taecyeon wanted to disappear. His upbringing did not fare him well, he could not just sit there and do nothing, when a few millennia old vampire asked him to bite her. A lot. His fingertips went numb at the thought. Someone this old… And he was a substitute. Taecyeon suddenly composed himself and moved closer.

She smelled really nice. It was something old and earthy. Remotely sweet sandalwood with a tinge of something he couldn’t put his finger on.

Tentatively wrapping his fingers around her shoulder, Taecyeon took another breath of the genuinely intoxicating scent. Well, he thought, Your Royal Highness Prince Nichikhun, thank you very kamsa, and he dug in.

At first, he wasn’t quite sure what his brain registered. Perhaps her blood worked like a drug and he was imagining things, but he was almost sure he was in a vortex of speed and light, and there were images that didn’t belong to his own memory. He must’ve had more than a few gulps because he could now also see a flickering image of a primeval creature of his kind, flashing in his mind every now and then. She looked fresh, pristine, and totally out of this world.

Figuratively speaking, it took his breath away.

“So, what do you think?” she asked, when Taecyeon pulled back. The lady reached out and wiped the traces of her blood off Taec’s lips with her thumb.

“I think…” he swallowed slowly, mulling over the fact he had nothing smart to say. “I think I might still be human because the vampire concept must represent my fantasies, too.”

Lady Kahelin chuckled and moved closer to him, putting her hands on his chest.

“You’re a funny one,” she was so close she was basically speaking against his lips. “Amuse me.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” his low voice rumbled beneath her palms, as his hands travelled to her exposed back pulling her into his lap.

She didn’t lie when she said his presence would be more than sufficient. Ok Taecyeon was certainly more than enough as her legs wrapped around his waist, their lips finally meeting in a kiss.

 

 

_Edinburgh_

 

His foot tapped impatiently at his heel as Junho sat curled onto his chair, face hidden in his arms that rested on his right knee. A tornado of thoughts whirled in his head, and his eyebrows knotted every other second whenever he imagined facing one obstacle or the other.

He was waiting for the system to be done with the calculations, and he honestly hoped that this would be it. Because if not, he would definitely be out of ideas and would have to turn to Yena, which would mean an eternal hatred of doom from Jang Wooyoung. And Junho really didn’t want that.

So, when Sunye went back into the shower to wash her head properly and then clean the mess they had made in the living-room, Junho mixed the blood samples and reprogrammed the system to run certain calculations, wishing the processor worked faster. He bit his lip, thinking of what he should tweak if that didn’t fall through right when a distinct _ping~_ sound came from the speakers. Steadying himself and (just in case) preparing for the worst, Lee Junho calmly counted to ten and opened his eyes.

Both monitors displayed three sets of data analysis results each.

_3/10, 5/10, 1/10.             2/10, 7/10, 1/10._

He froze for a second, and then he slowly moved towards the right monitor. The one with the 7/10 bar on display. Junho opened his eyes as much as he could, blinking and hoping he wasn’t hallucinating. But no, there it was – compatibility level 7 out of 10. He grinned from ear to ear.

 

 

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!!”

 

 

Sunye flinched at the sudden outburst. If it weren’t for her vampire reflexes, she would’ve dropped her clothes that she was about to put into the washing machine. The guy had been silent as a grave for over half an hour. What on earth… Throwing the dirty clothes away and leaving them lying on the floor, Sunye stormed out of the bathroom and hurried to Junho’s make-shift lab.

“Alright, Mr. Cogwheel, what no—oof~” she didn’t finish her sentence as Junho scooped her into his arms, merrily twirling her around the room.

“I did it!” he exclaimed laughing happily. “I found it!”

“Alright, alright,” Sunye couldn’t help but laugh herself – Junho’s smile was contagious. “Just put me down, and you can tell me about it.”

“OK,” he cautiously put her into his chair and hurried towards his monitors, eager to make a presentation. “Consider this…” he reached out at her, as if saying “stay.”

“Just…” Sunye smiled, making herself comfortable in his huge office chair. “Speak in Korean.”

Junho snorted and perched on his desk.

“Alright, so… mmm…” he pursed his lips. “Right, the reason behind Wooyoung’s attachment to Yena’s blood is in the blood composition. Compared to human blood, vampire red blood cells are incomplete with a few protein chains and membrane lipids missing. I actually thought it was something to do with it before, but this is where your gear train comes into action,” he pointed at Sunye and then hunched a little bit, putting his hands together.

“Simply speaking, there are many blood cells, and a lot of missing chains... Let’s call the missing things chains for simplicity’s sake, ok? The missing chains are not set. They’re individual. So, due to the sheer number of these components, every single vampire has a unique set of these chains. But!” Junho spread out his fingers. “What if, let’s say, another vampire has a missing link of your chain and vice versa?” he interlocked his fingers together. “What if all of it matches?”

“What then?” she asked humouring him, because she liked how excited he was explaining her everything.

“Boom!” he gesticulated wildly. “Fireworks!”

Sunye giggled. “Do elaborate.”

“Alright,” Junho cleared his throat. “So, there’s tons of missing components, and so there is a huge number of possible combinations and compatibility matches. I made a 10-point compatibility scale, and after a few calculations with the input data that I had, just as expected, I could tell the average chain compatibility rate is really low. The compatibility impact grows pretty much like on the Richter’s scale, so 3 or 4 out of 10 is already a pretty good match.”

“So, let me guess,” Sunye’s attention drifted towards the monitors. “7 out of 10, that’s your twin and the human?”

“Bingo,” he nodded. “Fireworks~!” he would've thrown confetti if he had any. “I also think that’s the highest compatibility level that doesn’t affect your sense of smell. Anything above that, and you can already smell it. So, keeping in mind that I can smell whoever has the same imprint, I would suppose that imprint raises the compatibility up to 8 or 9 out of 10,” Junho scratched the back of his head, checking out his monitors, too.

“Can it get any higher than that?” Sunye asked thoughtfully, putting her thumbnail to her mouth but not biting it.

“Well, the scale is up to 10, isn’t it?”

“But then it’s stronger than the imprint.”

“Yep,” Junho nodded, checking out another monitor. 5 out 10… That was rather high, too... But before he could linger on that any longer, Sunye’s voice demanded his full attention again.

“So, when you get 10 out of 10… what’s that?”

Junho fixed his gaze on her, watching her intently.

“Destiny.”

 

 

***

 

 

He closed and locked the door.

The house felt empty. He felt empty. The most aggravating thing was that he knew that no matter how hard he tried, that emptiness would never fill up with something worthwhile. You could not replace that; you could only acquire something different.

He knew what Amber meant when she later said that living in a Shadow was just a faint reflection of reality, but he’d rather have a taste of it and feel bitter for the rest of his life than don’t experience it at all in any mean possible.

Taking in a deep breath through his nose, Chansung closed his eyes savouring different scents in the house, allowing them to draw a colourful picture in his head. He loved scents. All kinds of it. They triggered memories and images, and he was grateful for having this sense so sharp. It made him into a tracker and formed his character and identity. Scents told him stories, and scents could never lie. Even now, as he processed whiffs and puffs from all over the house, he could tell that everyone was asleep. Even the cat.

Chansung frowned, a characteristic crease forming in between his eyebrows.

She was asleep, but not in her room.

He moved silently from the door and walked towards the stairs, but instead of climbing up Chansung walked around it and opened the door to the cellar that was no longer dark and damp. It was pristine clean with white walls and environment-friendly lighting.

Chansung walked down the revamped stairs that led straight to Yena’s new laboratory. It looked more like the real thing with state-of-the-art equipment, computers, glassware, microscopes, tubes, fridges, centrifuges… Minjun even got her an EEG recording net for the fun of it, although Yena did face-palm and explain to him that she did not specialize in neuroscience.

Slowly walking down the lab isle, Chansung passed Bruno, sleeping peacefully in his luxury cat bed next to the quietly droning fridge. That must’ve been his 5th or 6th bed total. Chansung saw different beds for the cat all over the house – in the living room, in the kitchen, the first floor, and even in the attic – sometimes Bruno would stay the night at Chansung’s as well. The cat was really the king of the house. As for its human, Yena was sleeping sprawled across her main desk, her cheek stuck to her keyboard; glasses twisted and perched on her forehead, glasses legs entangled in her blonde hair.

Chansung took one careful sniff of the air around her and then sighed like a tired parent. She had passed out from exhaustion again. Sometimes he couldn’t fathom her. It felt like she wanted nothing from this life, and it was hard to tell whether she tortured herself on purpose, or she really liked what she was doing. She was definitely curious and she loved finding things on her own, but Chansung couldn’t understand what the use was of pushing oneself to the limit almost every single time.

Carefully snatching at the glasses with one hand and little by little pulling it away so that not a single strand of her hair would fall out of place, Chansung turned off her computer after making sure that all the open files and documents are saved, and then he gently took Yena into his arms. She was usually a light sleeper, but she was so knocked out her head merely lolled around until it propped against Chansung’s shoulder, and he walked out of the lab on a light yet steady foot. As he passed by the entrance, Bruno woke up and blinked his bleary eyes twice before realizing his human was being carried away. He mewed faintly and minced up the stairs following the tall vampire.

She smelled bad. As in, not that she stank or anything, but just the overall scent make-up was not very good biologically. Chansung cast one worried glance at her face, but nothing seemed to be out of place. She looked absolutely peaceful with her pale flawless skin and curvy lips that, if it weren’t for her illness, would’ve been red without any lipstick.

The time must have come again, Chansung thought as he walked up the stairs and then treaded down the corridor towards Yena’s room. The time that they make Yena go for a check-up at the hospital.

For a person with a serious illness, she was definitely persistent on ignoring medical facilities for as long as possible. And it wasn’t like they could really just tell her to go and she would do it no questions asked. She was a person with an exceptionally strong power of will, and if she didn’t want to do something, she could not be forced.

Funny enough, the only person who could indirectly persuade her to go to the hospital was none the other, but Ok Taecyeon. He usually would apply reverse psychology, appeal to her feelings, or do something to piss her off, so that everything would result in her saying “NOW, LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!!” and that “what” would be going to the hospital.

Taec has to come back quick; Chansung concluded opening the door to Yena’s room and walking in. Bruno followed right after him and curled up into his cat cradle right next to Yena’s nightstand, as Chansung lowered Yena onto her bed and pulled the blanket on her with care. He gazed at her for a lengthy moment and then, figuring she would sleep until the next morning, Chansung turned around and left the room.

At the end of the corridor, he stopped by Wooyoung’s room and checked upon the kid. The youngest of the coven was sound asleep in his sweats and tank-top, hand on his stomach, his lean body sprawled across the bed, not even bothering with pillows and sheets. Judging from the way his hair shone even in the dim twilight of a cloudy day, he must have almost recovered from the attack. Even so, Chansung looked around and, after finding a pen and scrap of paper, he left Wooyoung a note on his nightstand right next to his phone, saying that once he wakes up, he should take a few packs of blood from their emergency stack and then try to sleep through the night and day again. Chansung was about to put Wooyoung and Junho through a rough training tomorrow night, and he needed them both at their best form.

Junho. Chansung closed Wooyoung’s door and stopped for a moment. He sometimes felt he was not being fair to the kid. He had Chansung’s imprint, but they barely spent any time together. As he already had to go through this with Khun a few centuries ago, Chansung could easily tell that both of his wards were really different.

Junho was a lot more independent. He did respect Chansung for what he was, but Chansung could see that Junho took all the information given to him with a grain of salt, eager to test and find out everything himself, while back in the days, Khun would seldom question anything his seniors had to say to him. In a way, Chansung realized, Junho was a lot like him. After all, Chansung had spent months, years, and sometimes even decades away from Minjun in his early days without feeling any discomfort whatsoever.

Chansung moved down the corridor. Naturally, everyone was bound to go through all sorts of “adventures” during their alone time, but Chansung wasn’t sure those adventures were a bad thing even if they did come with advantages and disadvantages.

He halted in front of the mahogany door, fixing a contemplative gaze at it. The problem was that when one didn’t live alone, one’s actions were bound to have repercussions, affecting other members of the group. Without a single sign of hesitation, Chansung took a firm hold of the door knob, turned it, and walked inside.

He was surprised to see the curtains drawn open, with the blinds and shutters pulled away from the window as well. It was close to 4pm and with the cloudy winter weather, it was rather dim already, but that still seemed out of place, considering that Nichkhun needed absolute darkness to get well faster. Closing the door, Chansung walked over towards the windows to close the blinds and shutters.

“Leave it,” Chansung heard him say right when he was about to grip the lift cord and lower the blinds.

Turning around, he saw Khun open his eyes and focus his chocolate orbs on him. Something in Chansung’s face grew softer.

“You’re awake,” he said somewhat surprised, leaving the blinds be and walking closer to the bed.

“Your tooth goes phantom and you expect me to sleep through it?” Khun’s face was expressionless as his eyes left Chansung, and he concentrated on the ceiling.

Chansung smiled. Nichikhun and his teeth for the imprint.

“So, you felt it,” he nodded sitting down on a chair in front of the bed and taking a closer look at Khun’s arm that was maimed more than a week ago.

It was a lot better. Bones, sinews, nerves, and muscles were all there, save for a few patches of skin that still needed to grow back. Now it looked like package that got ripped open with a full layer of skin missing.

“Of course, I did,” Khun closed his eyes. “Shadow is something one cannot miss. I’m surprised Junho hasn’t come running, given the fact it was his first.”

“I am pretty sure that Junho is bright enough to realize that nothing bad happened, because he’s not in pain,” Chansung answered softly. “And I also believe that he has someone to explain him things if need be.”

Khun turned to Chansung, his dark eyebrows knotted in a slight frown, a stark contrast to his dyed almost platinum blonde hair. Chansung gave him a pointed look and a grin. Khun blinked and then rolled his eyes, smirking as if to say “I should’ve known.” However, there seemed to be other things on his mind.

“Who was it?” he asked.

“Lady Amber.”

“I know THAT, I heard her talking,” Khun emphasized, slightly irritated by how calm Chansung was. “Who was IT?” he stressed as Chansung interlocked his fingers, gazing at Khun from behind his long black bangs. It’s not like he didn’t want to say anything; he thought that Khun should know even without being told. At the lack of his answer, Khun indeed did roll his eyes.

“Are you mad?” Chansung asked cautiously.

“No,” Khun was determined to stare at the ceiling for the rest of this conversation. “Just disappointed.”

“Khun,” Chansung sighed. “I…”

“The Chansung I know does not give up,” Khun cut in saying it loud and clear. Chansung blinked taken by surprise. Of all people…

“I did not give up…” Chansung objected calmly.

“Yes, you did,” Khun insisted. “Choosing to go through Shadow, when the real thing is right in front of you for the taking? I’d say you have given up a great deal.”

“Nichikhun,” Chansung clenched his jaw for a moment, not exactly liking where this was going. “It would never work. It’s better to acknowledge it than to keep on lying to yourself, hoping for the impossible.”

“If it doesn’t work, you’re just not trying enough,” Khun deadpanned and Chansung almost snorted.

“Now you sound like Wooyoung.”

“I do not!” the intention to maintain his focus on the ceiling went out of the window as Khun turned to face Chansung, having become absolutely indignant at the remark. Chansung laughed and reached out to brush away stray golden locks from Khun’s temple.

“Yes, you do,” he reassured gently. “Now, why would you say that?”

Khun raised his healthy arm, grasping at Chansung’s fingers and eventually taking his hand and gripping it firmly.

“Because we have time,” he said looking Chansung right in the eye. “Of all the things we get robbed of when we become this…” he placed Chansung’s hand onto his chest indicating the obvious lack of constant heartbeat. “Time is the only thing we have in abundance. So, we can make mistakes, and we have time to fix them. And even if it’s not for the eternity,” he swallowed because sometimes it was still a bit hard to talk after the quicksilver attack. “I do believe that we have a right to be happy, at least for a little while.”

Chansung leaned closer, brushing at Khun’s hair with his free right hand.

“Khun…” he smiled, although it seemed somewhat forced, and Khun finally knew he was getting at it. “I’m not miserable.”

“I wish that… at least for one day you would stop thinking of us,” Khun squeezed Chansung’s hand. “And would just follow your own thoughts. Your own plans.”

“My thoughts are with our coven,” Chansung declared. Khun let go of his hand frustrated and looked away. “I can’t just throw it all away for something that might never happen,” he sounded as calm as ever, but there was a particular edge to his voice that betrayed part of him was in pain.

“I hate you,” Khun mumbled.

“Khun…” Chansung smiled, his eyes focusing on the damaged arm again. “Would you like to take me?”

“No, I’m fine,” Khun muttered in a cold voice. “Please, just go.”

Chansung closed his eyes, and then got up from his chair, walking around the bed. Khun was expecting to hear the door being opened and closed, but instead, his bed creaked slightly when Chansung crawled in from the other side.

He didn’t even have enough time to prepare himself as Chansung hugged him across his waist, careful not to bother the wounded arm, putting his head onto Khun’s chest. The Thai blinked surprised, his right arm frozen mid-air, until it finally landed to rest on Chansung’s shoulder, Khun’s long aristocratic fingers gingerly beginning to stroke Chansung’s thick black hair.

Khun sighed.              

“You, big stupid yangban,” he chided softly.

“I know,” Chansung conceded staring at the window.

“It’s going to leave a bittersweet trace,” his soothing fingers ran through the black silk of a hair. Chansung closed his eyes, hiding the rosy veil behind his eyelids, holding Khun even tighter.

“I know,” he whispered.

 

 

***

 

 

They were at the city outskirts already, and she still hadn’t uttered a single word. She kept on staring out of the window throughout the whole ride, her arms folded across her chest, her thick wavy hair obscuring her face from his view. From the corner of his eye, he could only see her silhouette getting illuminated and then drowning in the shadows again with every lamp post they passed by.

Despite the fact she was really cooperative in letting him know everything she had found in Dornoch, it felt like talking to a poorly programmed android that could not convey human emotions. And once she had relayed everything she knew; Bobby did not say another word. One didn’t need to be a genius in human psychology to realize that it was not something personal, and she was not upset about herself. But it was an obvious silent treatment.

“How long are you going to ignore me?” Taecyeon asked when their car shuffled into the Queensferry Road. The 4-hour drive was almost over. Bobby closed her eyes and gave a long and exasperated sigh, finally unfolding her arms. Here it comes, Taec thought.

“I’ve thought you like Yena,” she said staring at the glovebox in front of her.

Bobby’s voice was full of reproach. She was obviously judging and blaming him. Although he couldn’t really tell what exactly she was mad about – his supposed “cheating” on Yena or breaking her romantic vampire fantasies.

“I do,” he said without any second thought. He figured he might as well be frank about certain things.

“Then why you and that… lady…” Bobby suddenly got agitated and couldn’t find words to express whatever she had in mind. “UGH!!” she eventually opted for the most eloquent emotional expression – interjection.

“If that’s what’s been bothering you all this time, you could’ve just mentioned it in the morning, when we left the castle,” Taecyeon pointed out, steering the car through busy streets with ease. “It would’ve saved me the trouble of suffering your foul mood.”

“But why—oof…” Bobby exclaimed and then jerked forwards unexpectedly as Taecyeon was perhaps a little bit too abrupt to stop the car right in front of her house. He killed the engine and turned to look at her when Bobby brushed her dishevelled hair back, trying to compose herself.

“Whether I like Yena or not, whatever I do for the coven has nothing to do with it,” he said, his low voice filling the car with something dark and solid. “I might have feelings, but I am not committed, so you have no right to judge me.”

“I’m not judging you,” Bobby shook her head. “I just don’t understand.”

“What exactly?” Taecyeon asked patiently.

“Why not?” she looked up at him, her eyes sad and pleading. It was a heavily loaded question and Taecyeon had many reasons as to why not, but he didn’t know where to start, how to make it short and simple.

“Vampires can’t have children,” he said eventually with a pained expression on his face. “And humans die. Sometimes too fast. I can’t sentence her to an empty shell of a life she would have with a human counterpart. And I’m not stoical enough to create a bunch of painful memories and not be affected by it, no thank you.”

“Yena doesn’t like kids,” Bobby pointed out. Taec scoffed.

“It all sounds so easy to you, doesn’t it?” he ruffled his thick hair. “You know what I find the most ironic? It's that you leave just fleeting touches on our lives, but we have to deal with the impact for so long, it takes years to recover, while humans,” he pointed at her and Bobby felt guilty for some reason. “I don’t know why, perhaps it’s because you have so little time… We might be an asteroid crashing into your lives, but one day you swear we are everything, and then the next day you move on as if nothing has ever happened. So, don’t ask me why not,” he sat straight again, hands on the steering wheel. “I’m not inclined to become close with someone, who only wants to distance away from me.”

Whoever it was, I hope the bitch is dead, Bobby thought furiously, but there was only one word she said out loud:

“Wuss.”

Taecyeon snorted, and glanced at her somewhat admiring the fact she had the guts to say it to him.

“Perhaps,” he shrugged. “But what can you do,” he offered her a lopsided smirk. Bobby sighed.

“What are we going to do about that Thai vampire then?” she changed the topic, thinking that was enough of probing into Ok Taecyeon for one day.

“I’ll check the international register,” his voice shifted into a business-like tone. “Khun has an access on his company’s computer, so I’ll drop by on my way to the Old Town. At the same time, I’ll go through those inconsistencies at the company you told me about,” he gave her a pointed look and Bobby nodded. “Although that Thai vampire,” he narrowed his cat-like eyes. “It could’ve been just a disguise… Thai vampires are really rare these days. Real Thai vampires.”

“Why?”

“We don’t like tropical climate…”

Bobby snorted. “Too hot?”

Taec shook his head. “Too sunny.”

“But the evenings aren’t long there, while here in summer, the sun sets past nine in the evening… Dusk is even longer.”

“Yes, but in winter, the sun sets at 4pm and it’s usually cloudy here all year round,” Taec pointed out. “That’s why there are more of us in the tepid latitude zones,” he smiled. “Now off you go, and have a decent sleep, before your mother kills me.”

“I’ll try,” Bobby rolled her eyes. “But it will be hard, after everything I saw yesterday… eww,” she shivered. “Nightmares.”

“Oh, come on,” Taec pouted. “The image wasn’t THAT bad, was it?”

Bobby scoffed, clicking her tongue and getting out of the car. “Pervert!” she deadpanned before closing the door and running off towards her house.

Taecyeon chuckled quietly to himself and drove away after he had made sure Bobby was back in her home, safe and sound.

 

 

***

 

 

He got there a little earlier than expected, so he waited outside the warehouse in darkness, listening to the sounds around him. There was an occasional dog bark echoing throughout the warehouse area, and he could catch the fragments of the talk between the guards in their booth right at the entrance. Crows and pigeons were at it as usual, croaking and cooking their songs 24/7 three hundred sixty-five days a year. Junho shoved his hands into his leather jacket pockets and leaned against the warehouse door. He felt accomplished and bothered at the same time.

Accomplished, because he finally figured out why Wooyoung felt attracted to Yena’s blood. As a result, he would no longer need to suffer Jang Wooyoung’s text messages constantly asking “are you there yet?”

Bothered, because with 7/10 finally dealt with, his focus was now on 5/10. His compatibility with Sunye was very high. And even though it could just as well be natural, Junho was too curious and too suspicious to leave everything to Miss Coincidence. Come to think of it, he did feel some kind of a strange connection since the very beginning, but he didn't consider it to be anything significant. He wasn’t concerned about his own safety or anything; he just didn’t want to cause any problem to the coven. But he also didn’t want to alert anyone or turn this into a matter of great importance, so Junho decided to talk to Chansung about it. After all, he was old, wise, and intelligent; and he played the main cello in Junho’s head. That had to account for something.

The dogs and the birds suddenly hushed and the site grew absolutely quiet. Junho looked up to see two lean figures walking towards him, and he was pleased to find that he could also feel his twin at some level.

The same venom must have established this connection, even though it was a very fragile one. When they emerged from the shadows, Junho bowed to Chansung and shook Wooyoung’s hand, also giving him a curt nod. It indicated that the problem was solved, although Jang Wooyoung clearly would have to wait until later for Junho to spill everything out.

Chansung led them into one of Khun’s warehouses that was usually used for training and Taecyeon’s dancing lessons, so the place was not new for Wooyoung. Junho also knew the surroundings because this was close the site where Chansung had caught him hunting a few months ago and where he’d got his imprint. Even though it hasn’t been that long, it felt like ages ago – so much has changed over a short period of time.

“Nice curls,” Wooyoung pointed out when Chansung turned on the light and they found themselves in a big white and empty storehouse in front of the mirrors. The youngest of the clan stared pointedly at Junho in the mirror, eyeing him from head to toes. Junho has always sported black unruly locks, but now it looked like it had gained even more volume.

“It’s my natural look,” Junho checked himself in the mirror, smoothing down the hair around his temples. “Problem?”

Wooyoung gave him the eye when Chansung stood behind the two younglings, checking them both in the mirror and eventually just gazing at his own reflection. He then put his hands behind his back and strode away without uttering a single word.

Junho stared nonplussed and glanced left at Wooyoung mouthing “What is up with that?”

Wooyoung shrugged equally confused and mouthed back: “I don’t know.”

They didn’t have time to exchange other ideas because Chansung coughed and finally began talking in a rather authoritative voice that made them both snort: this Hwang Chansung reminded them of a commander from a historical drama.

“Since we’re finally here, let’s cut straight to the chase. I’ve had a confrontation with Junho, and Wooyoung’s obviously survived the hunter attack, which means,” Chansung turned to face them and the boys stood straight, afraid lest he should find they were giggling at him. “Both of you have a very high potential,” he raised his right forefinger. “You might have not had a decent training, but you have good reflexes and instincts. I guess that dance thing from your human lives is paying off in the end. However,” he stopped, raising his voice a few decibels. “Even though OUR world has changed quite a lot as well, a vampire with zero fighting skills is still a dead-meat in the case of a serious confrontation. Therefore,” he took a step closer and the younglings fought the urge to step back, especially as Chansung lowered his head, expecting the right answer immediately. “What is your most important weapon?”

“Uhh… A silver sword?” Wooyoung guessed.

“My mind?” Junho tried tentatively.

“Silver swords are used in duels and they can definitely be very useful if you have one,” Chansung mused nodding. “And naturally, your mind is very applicable, but WRONG!” he suddenly leaned forward yelling at the top of his lungs and scaring the hell out of the younglings.

“The hell!” Wooyoung snatched at his chest because he was sure he felt his dormant heart jump in a fright, while Junho heaved a sigh of relief when he noticed Chansung break into a kind smile. Young master Hwang laughed.

“Hahaha! I’ve always wanted to do that,” he chuckled bonking the younglings’ heads together ( _Argh~! Augh!_ ) and pinching their cheeks. “Aww, you two are so cute!”

“ _Hyung_!” Junho gasped frowning reproachfully and rubbing his head. “What blood have you been drinking?”

“Must’ve been Khun’s if you asked me,” Wooyoung grumbled gingerly touching his violated cheek, earning a snort from Junho and eventually bumping fists with him – Junho concurred 100%.

“Jokes aside,” Chansung continued calmly and the two boys hushed immediately. “Your best weapon is your body,” he declared. “Of course, there is a variety of weapons out there nowadays – silver daggers with wooden skewers the hilt, silver bullets, quicksilver shots… but all of that is null if your opponent proves to be more skilled in martial arts and self-defence, so now…” he unzipped his hoodie, took it off, and threw it away, standing in jeans and a black tank-top. “Come at me,” he tapped heavily at his chest and a hollow “thud” echoed throughout the warehouse.

Junho and Wooyoung met each other’s eye in disbelief.

“We’re so dead,” Wooyoung declared as Junho sighed and unzipped his jacket, wriggling out of it and placing it carefully on the ground. He knew that wearing a white t-shirt to the training had been a bad idea.

“I guess our common demoralize-first-teach-later method was present even in the Joseon era,” Junho pointed out turning and stretching the muscles in his neck, making the bones crack a bit.

“We’re still dead,” Wooyoung insisted taking off his hoodie and feeling sorry for his white Converse trainers. Well, at least these weren’t his favourite Adidas.

Junho offered him a knowing smile.

“Let’s die together then,” he suggested. Wooyoung smirked nodding, and the twins lunged at Chansung in sync, yelling their heads off.

Five minutes later, they were lying on the hard warehouse floor wriggling in pain. Junho then understood that Chansung had gone very easy on him a few months ago. But why on earth did he have to go all out and cripple them like that? It seemed like Chansung realized he had gone a little bit overboard himself, because he regretted not bringing spare blood bags to help the boys heal faster. Since he planned on keeping them in the warehouse training until the sunrise, he had no other choice but to go back to the house and come back with the emergency blood supplies.

Sometimes, I’m such a fool, he sighed. Ordering over his shoulder, _don’t go anywhere_ , Chansung disappeared outside.

“Tch’yeah, as if we could,” Wooyoung whined lying on the ground, breathing heavily. With his high haemoglobin levels, he had relatively more oxygen in his blood, and he was quickly running out of it as his body was using anything it could find, trying to heal faster. He almost felt like a fish out of water.

“I guess he thought we would do better,” Junho mused standing shakily, gripping at his right arm, and eyeing the cold wall right in front of him. After a short deliberation, he rammed his right shoulder into the wall, tearing the sleeve off his t-shirt.

 

CRACK.

 

“Mhagghh…” he groaned closing his eyes and collapsing onto the ground. He got his dislocated shoulder back in place alright, but there were still multiple bruises and fractures all over his body. The fact that he was healing fast didn’t help much. He was getting hungrier with every reconnected tissue.

“How’s your wrist?” Wooyoung asked panting heavily.

Junho forced himself to move and he dragged whatever was left of his body towards his comrade, eventually lying down next to him. When he offered to die together, he didn’t expect it to be so painful.

“It’s fine, I thought he would break it, but it just got mildly twisted,” Junho raised his hand and gave his wrist a twist to the left and to the right. “So, it’s back to normal. I think I have like 6 fractured ribs though,” he coughed wiping off the blood that was still oozing from the split lower lip. “And your foot looks pretty bad, to be honest.”

“No shit,” Wooyoung cursed sitting up. He knew he fell down for a reason when he failed to land that kick on Chansung’s shoulder. Puffing black unruly bangs away, he blinked focusing on his foot.

“Ah… crap…” it really didn’t look good.

In a lying position, you would expect your heel to be touching the ground with your toes up in the air, but now Wooyoung’s right foot in a white Converse trainer was bent in a very peculiar angle, pointing left, toes not too far from his left ankle. His foot resembled a broken divider calliper.

Now he knew why it hurt like hell. He definitely had a broken ankle and a foot and lots of tissues torn apart. It’s a miracle the foot was still attached to his leg, actually.

Wooyoung leaned forward, his fractured ribs protesting, but he was still flexible enough to reach the broken foot without even bending his knees. Whining quietly, Wooyoung gripped the foot with both of his hands, closed his mouth clenching his jaw, and gave it a painstakingly slow turn to the right. Junho could see Wooyoung’s hands quiver in pain, but the youngest didn’t make a sound until there was a distinct “clack” and the healing sinews caught the bone in place, locking the fracture and keeping the foot stable.

“Graawwarwrjhgksgjh!” Wooyoung plopped onto his back again unable to hold it in anymore. “I know it heals faster, but the pain is freaking the same!!” he flailed around with his relatively unharmed arms and leg.

“Yeah, I guess they forgot to mention that in the manual,” Junho chuckled and frowned at once as his healing ribs were obviously against chuckling, giggling, laughing, and any other similar emotional expression.

“So, what d’you got for me?” Wooyoung turned his head to look at Junho, making use of the moment while Chansung was away. Junho looked left and noticing the serious gaze Wooyoung was giving despite his broken nose, he understood exactly what his twin was asking of him.

So, he swallowed his saliva that was still partly mixed with his blood and focused on the cold ceiling, thinking of the best way to put it. Once he figured which thread to start with, Junho filled him in on everything that concerned his attachment to Yena’s blood.

Wooyoung was silent all the while Junho spoke. His calm, warm voice echoed soothingly throughout the warehouse, and Wooyoung remained silent even after Junho was done with his speech on blood particles and compatibilities. Despite the turmoil in his mind, psychically he felt considerably better, but he was really hungry.

“So how do I get rid of it?” he asked eventually.

“What?” Junho blinked and sat up, eyeing Wooyoung as if he were out of his mind. “The connection? You can’t, it’s natural. It’s not a virus or anything.”

“So how do I stop myself from draining her?” Wooyoung asked frustrated. Junho rolled his eyes.

“Just hold back! Power of will!” he stated the obvious tapping at his own temple. “You think vegetarians can’t stomach meat? Most of them CHOOSE to be vegetarian, and they’re quite successful at that.”

Wooyoung got up slowly, leaning against the floor with his hands behind his back, staring thoughtfully at his healing foot.

“It just…” he began. “It was the best thing I’ve ever tasted… ow, Lee Junho, the hell?!” he frowned snatching at his head, the corners of his mouth sagging down as Junho wacked him in his forehead.

“That’s why you have to feed on real human blood, you moron,” he grumbled. “Of course, it’s the best thing you’ve ever tasted, you swine-blood freak.”

Wooyoung glared at him from behind the curtain of his bangs, rubbing at his forehead, mulling over everything he’s heard tonight.

“With the imprint,” Junho continued. “My compatibility with Chansung is probably 8 out of 10, but I don’t dream of draining him whenever I see him,” he shrugged. “Really, just change your outlook. Think of it as an urge to protect her or something. Yena’s a valuable person, she might make use of a vampire body-guard,” Junho grinned wiggling his eyebrows, and Wooyoung expression softened into something that reminded of a frank smile until he scoffed and flopped down again.

“If this is what 7 out of 10 feels like… then what’s 10 out of 10…” he wondered.

Junho sighed and lied down next to him again, both of them staring at the crossbars on the warehouse ceiling.

“Must be a torture,” he guessed. “Must take over your senses to the point it drives you insane until you get it.”

“You really think it’s destiny?” Wooyoung asked recalling the way Junho called the 10/10 compatibility a while ago.

“For the lack of a better word,” Junho shrugged and winced – his clavicle must’ve been injured as well. “Destiny and love are all about chemistry anyway.”

“You know,” Wooyoung stared thoughtfully at the ceiling. “Loving someone and being in love are two different things.”

“I think that the vampire concept of love is somewhat different from what we’re used to,” Junho voiced out something that has been nagging him ever since he discovered the compatibility. “The reason I call 10 out of 10 “ _destiny”_ is…” he sighed.

“Naturally, even for vampires, everything is arbitrary, we’re people with our own thoughts and feelings after all, but…” he narrowed his eyes, staring at the dazzling light suspended right above them. “Right after Minjun’s engagement… One night I heard Bobby and Taec talking, with her being rather frustrated that there’s no true love in the vampire world, and Taec then pointed out that there are attachments and relationships they can form just like humans, but they usually choose not to. However, there’s one thing that even vampires cannot control, and that’s “ _true love_ ”,” Junho drew quotation marks with his fingers. “He said it was even stronger than the imprint.”

“And the only thing stronger than the imprint is 10 out of 10,” Wooyoung concluded.

“Yep. Although I don’t think it’s your one and true love in the sense that we understand it,” Junho carefully stretched himself checking the state of his arms and ribs, heaving a sigh of relief when nothing cracked. His upper body has almost healed. “It’s more like “blood love,” if I could call it like that. Like… an absolute attraction to someone else’s blood, disregarding everything else.”

“Disregarding the character, appearance, history, background, and even the fact whether you really like the person or you’re totally indifferent to them,” Wooyoung caught up pretty fast.

“Exactly.”

“That’s kind of scary.”

“Definitely. Thankfully, it’s very rare.”

“I wonder what it would feel like…”

“I don’t,” Junho declared and turned to look at Wooyoung right when Wooyoung focused on his eyes as well. “I like being sane.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year! ^_^
> 
> Thank you for checking out this story time and again.  
> It's very encouraging to see that the numbers aren't frozen.
> 
> I'll keep on running!  
> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Egle0702)  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Egle0702)
> 
> 🖤


	19. #19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🔷 Minjun and Jaejoong in Hokkaido.  
> 🔷 Junho and Chansung's heart-to-heart.  
> 🔷 Junho and Taecyeon's ~~heart-to-heart~~ information dump.  
> 🔷 Minjun and Jaejoong in Glasgow (Amber's eyes rejoice).  
> 🔷 Yena has a Skype conference with Amber and her eye candies. And then Ok Taecyeon pisses her off.

_Otaru, Japan_

 

He got off at a ferry terminal, raised his fury collar up to his nose, and paced down the wintry streets in a calm town north of Sapporo, partly enjoying the peace and quiet. Yet on the other hand, he thought that this human was one of the craziest individuals he’s ever met. Ever.

Warm glow from the lampposts illuminated old wooden and brick buildings, heaps of snow on both sides of the street adding up to the overall cosy atmosphere. The sky was slightly overcast, but he hadn’t come here all the way from Busan by boat to admire the stars.

It didn’t take him long to reach the restored part of the canal and walk down the pier to the pedestrian zone. Snow crunched beneath his feet. He also saw him waiting right next to the first old-fashioned gas lamp. Minjun wanted to laugh – he didn’t even try to look inconspicuous. Lifting his big fur-rimmed hood, half of his face drowned in cold shadows, he extended his greetings:

“Hyung, welcome to Otaru.”

His soft husky voice quickly wafted away across the canal, but he knew Minjun would hear him. The old vampire grinned walking towards him, hands shoved into the warm winter coat pockets.

“Care to explain what you’re doing in Hokkaido, when you’re the most wanted mortal in the Land of the Rising Sun?” Minjun asked stopping in front of the man and receiving a low bow from him. He spoke only when he stretched himself at a full length again, him being at the same eye level with Minjun.

“Hokkaido locals do not side with the ones that want my head, and it’s only logical to stay at the place they expect to find you the least,” Jaejoong smirked gesturing at the canal, obviously having in mind Japan.

Minjun patted his shoulder covered in a light brown winter coat, in recognition of the hunter’s stealth skills.

“How’s your clan, hyung?” Jaejoong moved his thick dark blue scarf away from his chin, walking down the canal, quietly gesturing at Minjun to follow him.

“My clan?” Minjun chuckled.

“Well, with the new addition and your connections, I’d say it’s already a clan,” Jaejoong mused. “Are the new-borns behaving well?”

“They have their own ups and downs,” Minjun nodded to himself. “I’m slightly worried about the youngest. He is not eager to get an imprint, and that could attract the unwanted attention of a few collectors, but you know,” he looked up at the hunter and smiled shrugging. “Nothing we wouldn’t have dealt with before.”

“That is reassuring to hear,” Jaejoong nodded looking up and exhaling. He watched the vapour escape his mouth.

“What do you have for me,” Minjun asked getting down to business. “That couldn’t get relayed over the phone.”

Jaejoong stopped at the bank and gazed enigmatically at dark waters.

“I was not exactly sure of who's involved or not, so I couldn’t risk it,” he declared. “What I have is not as important to you as it is to the whole community. I guess I was supposed to report to Jihoon hyung immediately, but since you’re related to him, I figured I should tell you first.”

Minjun frowned walking closer. “What do you mean?”

Jaejoong looked up, glancing directly into Minjun’s charcoal orbs. The human didn’t even flinch.

“Park Jaebeom. Or Jay Park, as he calls himself nowadays,” Jaejoong began. “He’s been flying back and forth between Europe and the United States for a while now. I figured, since your clan resides in Scotland right now, I could just fly over and continue my search from the British Isles, but then I received a message from one of my informants that literally almost made me reel,” Minjun’s frown deepened as Jaejoong carried on explaining.

“Jay Park has been working with a few influential American locals for a few decades already. They belong to a group that strives for law and order, but personally, I seriously doubt their methods…” the hunter shook his head, raven black hair swaying back and forth.

“What do they do?” Minjun asked narrowing his eyes.

“They believe that the old nomadic system isn’t appropriate for today’s world, and they want every single vampire tracked and tallied,” Jaejoong saw the vampire process the news, so he carried on. “I know we have the database already, with every new-born being accounted for in the national registry, but what they have in mind is an absolute tracking system. You do realize what this entails, don’t you?”

“A complete loss of privacy,” Minjun answered unwillingly. “How do they plan to accomplish this?”

“From what I’ve gathered,” Jaejoong moved along the canal again. “It’s a tracking system based on blood. I don’t know if it’s a device, a computer program, or some futuristic radar, but one drop of your blood and they can track you down. It’s hundreds of times more effective than Chansung’s nose,” he hunched his shoulders as cold wind danced around them.

“And Jay Park is playing a pivotal role in this,” he could swear he heard Minjun sigh, but Jaejoong still had things to say. “I honestly don’t know what his motives might be, but one thing’s certain – the entire community will not be happy about this. I seriously doubt whether the American authorities will approve this tracking system, which means, if it gets rejected by the officials, it will definitely go down to the private sector and then, no one knows who might get their hands on it…”

“Do you know how far they’ve developed the system so far?” Minjun touched his nose bridge, feeling that a whole onslaught of ugly was sure to come their way pretty soon.

“They’re still doing their beta testing. So far, I’ve heard that all of their attempts to track a test subject failed, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t work someday.”

“I think you should inform Jihoon hyung about this,” Minjun said thinking hard. “But I’d like to meet my brother before anything is set in motion. It’s not just us; I think everyone will want to do something about it.”

Jaejoong nodded silently and they walked on along the canal for a little longer until Minjun halted abruptly and it made the hunter come into a halt as well. Minjun turned to look at the man.

“You think you could come to Europe with me?” he asked. “With my connections, I can offer you a safe path out of Japan, and I could seriously use your intelligence network when my brother appears in Europe again.”

Jaejoong mulled over it pursing his lips and slowly nodding his head.

“Two birds with one stone… Sure, why not. My disappearance would piss the islanders off, and I have a few job proposals in Germany and France…” Jaejoong nodded again after weighing pros and cons. “I could keep my hands busy until your brother shows up.”

Minjun chuckled. “Jaejoong… don’t you ever get scared you might get turned one day?”

The hunter’s expression turned ice cold as he stared Minjun straight in the eye.

“No vampire in their sane mind would ever turn me.”

“And why is that?”

“Physiology aside, you all retain your personalities even after the turn,” he explained. “Now what would I turn into?

“Ah,” Minjun finally got it.

“Exactly,” Jaejoong nodded. “I’d sooner be chopped into pieces than turned. No one wants a VAMPIRE vampire hunter.”

 

 

_Edinburgh_

 

They sent Wooyoung home an hour before sunrise because he looked exhausted. He was definitely suffering from various side effects of quicksilver poisoning and he needed more time to recuperate, so Chansung went easy on him for the last hour of training. Plus, his shirt was ripped in threads and they couldn’t allow him walk back home half-naked. Junho gave him his leather jacket.

“It doesn’t look too good on him,” Chansung pointed out sitting on the top crossbar of an empty warehouse as they watched Wooyoung walk away with his hands in the jacket pockets.

“Must be the hair,” Junho mused sitting next to Chansung and swaying his legs back and forth like a little boy. He remembered this warehouse; it was the same place he hunted a teenage couple a few months ago. “Too emo.”

“Or the bloody joggers,” Chansung clicked his tongue. “Doesn’t match the whole ensemble.”

“I think we’re just being two mean girls because he looks good in whatever he wears,” Junho pointed out when Wooyoung reached the outskirts of the logistics sector, took a look around, and shot up into the sky, flying away towards the city.

Chansung chuckled. “Perhaps we are,” he figured and focused on Junho’s profile. The kid was laughing all by himself. “Junho…”

“M?” Junho turned his head right to look at Chansung.

The elder’s face was drowned in shadows. There was something in his eyes, and Junho didn’t feel like laughing anymore.

“Is there something you’d like to tell me?” Chansung asked. Junho looked down at his shoes. They were drenched in his blood. And Wooyoung’s.

“I’m… not sure,” he stared at his fingertips. “Should I? Must I…”

“Not really,” Chansung looked away, focusing on the cloudy sky. “I just thought that perhaps you had to share something I didn’t already know.”

“What do you know?”

“Well, for one, I know that you have someone. Most likely a girl…” Chansung halted when Junho turned at him sharply, eyes wide in astonishment. “Or is it a boy?” he quickly corrected himself.

“It’s a girl,” Junho huffed. Chansung chuckled. “Is that a problem?”

“No, it’s not a problem,” Chansung shook his head. “Although I wonder why she has so little presence in your blood… there should be more…”

“What?” Junho narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t understand what Chansung was talking about.

“Yena had your blood tested some time ago,” the older vampire explained. “She was obsessed, saying there was something different about it, but she couldn’t find anything, so she asked me for my nose.”

“There’s no privacy in this clan, now is it?” Junho buried his face into his palms.

“Not with Yena around, no,” Chansung smiled. “Anyway, my point being, with you having someone… Her trace in your blood should be bigger… But Yena didn’t find anything, and I only noticed that Minjun’s imprint got stronger in you.”

“What does it mean?” Junho asked automatically, although his thoughts were already miles away.

“No idea,” Chansung shrugged. “As long as you feel alright, honestly, it’s none of my business. I guess I was just trying to be a thoughtful parent,” he laughed and scratched his neck, feeling slightly embarrassed. Junho smiled. “You’re very different from Khun, and I sometimes I don’t know what I should do to make you feel more comfortable with what you are.”

“Hyung,” Junho touched Chansung’s knee. “I really appreciate it, but I’ve always been like that. I like figuring things out on my own.”

“I know,” Chansung ruffled that tuft of unruly hair. “Just be careful.”

Then there was silence and they both just sat there, shoulder to shoulder, totally comfortable with each other, watching the sky turn from ink black to misty grey.

“Chansung,” Junho uttered eventually.

“M?”

“Could she be related to Minjun then?”

“I wonder…” Chansung mulled it over. “Minjun hasn’t turned anyone. Ever. There’s only his older brother, and he’s not here. And then there’s our Prince… but he also doesn’t have any progeny…”

_So, we ARE related to the Prince_ , Junho thought, but he said:

“Our maker was Minjun’s niece though…”

Chansung looked at him closely.

“I see what you’re getting at, but she didn’t have any sibling old enough to be allowed to roam around without maker’s supervision. At least not that we would know of,” he shrugged and Junho fell silent again. The youngling actually had many questions to ask, but he didn’t want to appear too inquisitive or ignorant. However, there was one thing he really wanted to know.

“Hyung…”

“M?”

“Is it true that old vampires kill the young ones for fun?”

Chansung glanced at Junho, a serene expression on his face, and then looked away.

“Some do,” he said. “I don’t know about the Isles, but in Korea, it is a crime punishable by dismemberment.”

“Complete dismemberment?” Junho’s eyes widened.

“An arm or a leg,” Chansung shrugged. “Depends on how grave the crime is. It’s not fatal, but hurts like hell, and takes decades to heal.”

“So, it’s not an acceptable thing to do,” Junho deduced.

“It’s not,” Chansung nodded. “The problem is that such practice is sometimes prevalent among the upper classes,” he sighed and Junho turned to look at him. “You see, we were all human, and whatever or whoever we were… we brought it with us into this life as well. Being a vampire doesn’t automatically make you evil,” Chansung met the youngling’s eyes. “It’s your choices in the past, present, and future that moulds you into what you are, and sometimes old habits can be very hard to break.”

Junho looked down at the ground far below their feet, digesting everything.

“One thing’s for sure, though,” Chansung carried on. “If you see that an old vampire is going to make an attempt on you,” Junho perked up and focused on Chansung again. “Turn your back on them and run as fast as you can.”

“Run?” Junho blinked.

“Anyone older than a hundred, and you wouldn’t stand a chance. You’re just too young, and it most probably wouldn’t be a fair fight, so…”

“So, I could stand a chance by running away?” Junho asked incredulously.

“You’re the fastest in our clan,” Chansung declared. “Or you’re going to be the fastest. I could sense that during our training. You still need to develop that, but…”

“But Wooyoung can fly!” Junho objected.

“If Wooyoung’s a helicopter, you’re a bullet train,” Chansung stood his ground. “You have faster reflexes.”

“But what if some old geezer challenges me to a duel, then what?” Junho clenched his fists.

“That’s hardly possible,” Chansung closed his eyes and reclined his head. “But even so,” he opened his eyes. “With your speed, there’s a way. I’ll show you during our next training session.”

Junho nodded. There was something soothing about the way Chansung talked. Conversation with Chansung wasn’t a bubbly ball game exchange that you would expect from Taecyeon. It wasn’t a philosophical discussion on existence with bouts of comfortable silence and random bickering that you would get from Wooyoung. Khun would talk to you at the same time allowing you to realize that no matter what you say, he’s still right in the end. Minjun… well, Junho still felt somewhat intimidated by Minjun from time to time, so he never really went there.

Whereas Chansung was literally his superior and sort of a vampiric “dad,” Junho knew that he could say whatever and Chansung would never look down on him because of it. Chansung never preached. He just spoke what he had on his mind and left it for Junho to decide what was what. Maybe that was the reason Junho decided to ask one more question.

“Hyung…”

“M?”

“When you disappeared the other day…” Junho’s voice suddenly dropped a few tones lower. “That was… Shadow?”

Chansung smiled.

“Your girl is quite knowledgeable.”

“Were you… training for something?” Junho was genuinely intrigued. And slightly worried.

He didn’t mean to pry, but there were times… when he tuned into his orchestra of imprints, and he could feel that Chansung was sort of bottled up, as if he was about to burst. He didn’t know what the emotion was because if anyone tried digging deeper, Chansung would always shut everyone out.

“Let’s just say…” Chansung flexed his fingers, eyeing them thoughtfully. He then turned to look at the young one and Junho tensed seemingly.

“I was told that out of all the human things we’ve been robbed of when we became what we are… we still have time. Loads of it. However, you have to enjoy your time here and now, play it risky, take chances. If you make mistakes, you can correct them and learn from them… otherwise, you will have to wait for the next opportunity for centuries, regretting that one moment when you could’ve made a difference.”

Junho stared at him quizzically. Chansung merely offered him a melancholic smile.

 

 

***

 

 

He sat in front of a computer screen, impatiently tapping his sharp fingers onto expensive desktop. None of his ideas had worked so, eventually, at around 9 in the morning, he decided to hack into the immigration office’s database.

However, the problem was that despite having built the firewall for the office, Taecyeon had no idea of their other security measures. The office had figured they shouldn’t leave their entire system security to one person (and they figured well), but now that also meant that Ok Taecyeon was stuck at the lowest password input level, and he couldn’t figure out how to bypass it. He knew the system was programmed to delete the data in the case of unsolicited access, and he couldn’t allow that. Why on earth would they change the password? He grumbled impatiently and reached for his phone.

It was bright already, Khun’s company was buzzing with employees like a beehive, but he was locked up in Khun’s office, and everyone knew that director’s personal assistant Ok should not be disturbed.

There was one message from Junho ( _Hyung, where’re you at_?), to which he quickly replied ( _Khun’s office_ ), and then he scrolled through his contact list, looking for one particular name. He wasn’t sure whether the person would answer, but he was bound to keep on calling until he got what he wanted.

After the twenty first beep, the person at the other end finally answered, saving Khun’s desk from being dented by the tapping fingers of one impatient vampire.

“Ok Taecyeon…” the person moaned like he was in pain. “Of course, who else would call at this ungodly hour…”

“Why?” Taec feigned ignorance. “It’s after 9 already!”

“Exactly!” the man croaked in a sleepy voice.

“Oh, I’m sorry, were you in the middle of something important?” Taecyeon gasped, putting his hand to his mouth.

“Sleep!!” the man rasped indignantly.

“Well, sorry about that,” all of a sudden Taec sounded nothing but serious business. “Patrick, I need the password.”

“Again?” the man called Patrick whined.

“Well, you’ve changed it!” Taec pouted.

“Because you knew it!” Patrick pointed out quite acutely.

“Point taken,” Taecyeon rubbed his eyes, stealing a glance at the wall-sized windows: the day was gloomy and it didn’t seem about to change anytime soon. “Look, just this once, I really need it. It’s a serious matter, I can get an injunction from the Regent, but it’ll take time, and I need that data NOW.”

“If it leaks again,” Patrick sighed sounding very tired.

“It won’t,” Taec assured him. “I’m at Khun’s office. It’s perfectly safe. I installed their security system. Come on, Patrick, you owe me one.”

“I’ve heard this line already,” you could tell that Patrick rolled his eyes. “I’ll send it over in a sec. Just delete it from your inbox immediately.”

“Thanks Patrick, you’re a SAINT!” Taecyeon perked up. “Sweet dreams~” he cooed into his phone.

“Yeah yeah…” and bleep, the conversation was over. Taecyeon stared at his phone. He didn’t even blink until a message arrived and the phone vibrated heavily.

_neeuqehtevasdog0421_

It said.

Ok Taecyeon snorted. These locals and their queens. They never change.

He typed in the password and pressed Enter. There was a slim chance that his idea would work, but he had to try.

The good thing about vampires was that the overall population was no more than a million around the globe so, it was easier to keep the track of them in well-organized societies. The troublesome thing about the population was that they didn’t exactly want to be tracked, and all vampires valued and respected privacy. Therefore, instead of having passports or taking fingerprints (or blood-prints) similar to humans, the vampires simply recorded the overall flow of people from a dominion to a dominion, to keep a general record of travel tendencies.

Naturally, quite more detailed records were kept within the dominion register itself, and the vampire would have needed to provide a full identification in the case of emergency, but in general, the customs simply counted heads in order to say “aye, another nocturnal hath entered the country.”

Anyone coming into the British Isles was allowed to indulge the fundamental right of privacy by not revealing his or her name and the purpose of stay within the country. Therefore, Taecyeon did not expect to find any important clue, but there was nothing else he could do – asking important ladies for help again was out of question.

When the British Isles Nocturnal Community Immigration Office database loaded onto his screen, Taecyeon went through the settings and narrowed down his search scope to “Most Recent,” expanding the overall span to 5 months. Then he set the immigrant gender to female and the ethnic origins location to Asia and he clicked Search.

It took less than a minute for the results to pop up into his screen. Taec frowned.

There were only five results and he could already see that they were not very satisfying. For one, none of the incoming vampires declared Thai as their ethnic origins. He dismissed two females immediately, because they had supplied even their photos and exact names, and he was not looking for anyone Persian or Bengali.

The other three lacked pictures, names, and any other information that would’ve allowed him to identify them. However, one of them claimed to be from Japan, and the thing with the Japanese vampires was that they tended to stick together. Taecyeon had friends among the Japanese vampire community, so he could always easily check who exactly entered the country on December 13th.

The remaining two were absolute enigmas. It only had “Female, Asia” on the profiles and the dates indicating when they entered the country. One entered less than two weeks ago, and the other has been here since November.

Covering his mouth with his knuckles, Taec rested his chin on his hand, peering thoughtfully at his screen. This had to be it. Unless of course, the person they are looking for had entered the country illegally, but the islanders were rather meticulous about guarding their coasts and boarders. And since the record was filed at Heathrow, he figured he might as well start from there.

His phone vibrated on the top of the table, slowly turning right. Still keeping his eyes on the monitor and quickly devising a plan, Taec grabbed the phone and unlocked it. He had to do a double take once he cast a fleeting glance at his screen.

Shaking his head and staring at it more closely, he blinked unable to believe his very own eyes – there was a TEXT message from Chansung. That sausage-fingers yangban actually typed him a text. It said:

_Yena’s scent is a bit…_

Taecyeon sighed and looked up at the gloomy morning city landscape that opened from the huge office windows.

The only way to make her go and see the doctors was to drive her out of control, and he most certainly disliked doing that. Driving her out of control included making her angry and frustrated, and it was obviously detrimental to her already frail health. So, in a way, he had to unbalance her to the point she be forced to check up on her physical health. Sometimes he thought he needed a mental therapy himself after dealing with her.

He put down his phone and weighed down his head, taking a very deep breath through his nose. He then opened his eyes immediately, and took a sharp look around.

Junho stood in front of the closed office doors. Taec could hear the whispering of the secretaries behind them, and after a quick once-over, he could tell why.

The elder vampire grinned – Junho wore nothing but squeaky trainers, smudged trousers, and a black t-shirt, and his hair looked like he’s just been kissed by a typhoon. There were no scratches or bruises on his skin, but Taec knew the signs of a fight when he saw them. He grinned:

“Well, hello there. Couldn’t be more obvious, now could we?”

“Sorry,” Junho weighed down his head, moving away from the door. “Gave my jacket to Wooyoung. His shirt got totally ripped to pieces. And didn’t have time to take a shower.”

“I see Chansung didn’t go easy on you two,” Taec grinned from ear to ear. “There’s a shower over there,” he pointed at the door opposite from him and Junho. “I think there’s also a set of fresh clothes, I’d say, you should change before going out…” he chuckled.

“I definitely will,” Junho nodded and flopped onto a lush black leather sofa, next to the window. Reclining his head onto the backrest and completely exposing his Adam’s apple, Junho closed his eyes and exhaled.

“Hyung, can I ask a question?” he said.

Taec looked up from the computer screen and Junho took that as a sign to carry on.

“Where exactly do we stand?” Junho asked. Taecyeon blinked and gave him a slight frown.

“Junho, you will have to elaborate on this one for me.”

“Chansung told me that we’re related to the Prince, and I suppose there is some sort of order in the vampire hierarchy, but I’ve ever really had a clear understanding of where exactly we stand.”

“Ah,” Taec logged out of the Immigration Office database and cleaned his browsing history before getting off his chair. He walked around Khun’s desk.

“Well, if you’re wondering about the administration, then Minjun is sort of a… magistrate of Daegu Metropolitan Area. Jihoon hyung… ah, that would be our Prince,” Taecyeon explained when Junho blinked at an unfamiliar name. “Wanted to make him the governor of the entire Gyeongsang province, but he declined. And since Minjun is the magistrate, we’re also part of the administration. Of course, while we’re away, Daegu is under direct control of the Seoul admins… Blood-wise, however,” Taec raised his voice as he leaned against the desk and folded his arms across his chest. “At the top there’s the Prince, of course… and then there’s us.”

Junho’s eyes widened slightly.

“That makes us rather important…” he mumbled. Taec shrugged.

“I’d rather say it makes us prone to constant bounty hunter attacks and offers to conspire against our Prince, but yes, we are important in a way, I suppose,” he nodded.

“But I don’t understand,” Junho frowned slightly. “If what they say is true and the Prince has never turned anyone, how can we be related by blood?”

“That goes waaaaaaaaaaaaaay back,” Taec’s head bobbed funny as he emphasized the distance in time. “Waaaaaaaaay back before Minjun or his brother were turned, Prince Taejo was trained under Master Hudun, that’s your great-great-great-great-great…”

“I think there are too many greats,” Junho pointed out.

“Hmm,” Taecyeon looked away, rubbing his chin. “You’re right; the line isn’t that long… Well, anyway, Master Hudun was Minjun’s maker and that makes him our great ancestor. He also was an important figure in moulding our Prince into what he is today. So, when he decided to go out in the sun (and some really old vampires do that), he gave his final imprint to the Prince, thus, making him a sort of a surrogate older brother to Minjun and Jaebeom.”

“Jaebeom?”

“That would be your maternal grandpa,” Taec smirked. Junho scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“Very funny.”

“So yeah, we’re related to the Prince through Master Hudun, and I know it sounds distant and old, but believe me or not, that imprint is very strong. When you meet the Prince, and you will sooner or later, you’ll feel the tug at your senses too.” Taecyeon nodded.

“What about the other half, then?” Junho scratched at the back of his dishevelled head. “If the blood is so important, why isn’t this… Jaebeom… and his progeny… why aren’t they in the administration as well? They should be part of the Royal clan too, I suppose?”

“Oh, that I don’t know,” Taec left the desk and walked over to the sofa to sit next to Junho. The sofa creaked silently when he flopped down. “Minjun seldom talks about it, and the only things I know I got from Joon – he’s out Prince’s right hand.

“From what I gather, the older brother left not long after Master Hudun’s had burst into flames, and they haven’t seen each other for centuries. Some say he’s always felt chained by Master Hudun and he felt liberated when he finally could go wherever he pleased. By the way, I think that’s bullshit, because Jaebeom was around 900 years old when Master Hudun went into the sun, and at that age, following your master is more of a ceremony than a must. I think he just got jealous that it was the Prince who got the final imprint and then just left.”

“He must be very old now,” Junho mused.

“Yes, he’s about 300 years older than Minjun,” Taec nodded.

“That’s ancient,” Junho sounded floored.

“Oh, trust me, you haven’t seen ANCIENT,” Taecyeon shook his head. He then got an idea. “You know, I’ve never seen Jaebeom myself, but I’ve got a pic, wanna take a look?” he cast a quick glance at Junho and jumped up from the sofa, without waiting for a reply.

“Yeah sure,” Junho followed his hyung to Khun’s desk, curious of what he was about to be shown. He stood behind Taec’s chair, when he quickly accessed some online database that was locked under a few passwords and codes. Other than that, it looked like your average Dropbox account.

Taec opened a file that was filled with squares and lines and most of them were intertwined together, although the number of squares wasn’t that high. Junho narrowed his eyes. It actually resembled…

“A family tree?” he said it out loud.

“Yep,” Taecyeon nodded looking satisfied. “I began putting this up together back in 1930s, when I realized that some of the wetwork agents weren’t that bad, and they could supply me with info, cuz they’re actually awesome spies.”

“Wetwork?” Junho thought that was only a euphemism used by KGB or something like that.

“Yeah, hunters,” Taec nodded looking back over his shoulder, and when Junho gave him a very judging eye, he was fast to explain himself. “Hey, not all of them are batshit crazy. Some of these guys are pretty decent. I’ve heard Minjun might be bringing one over from Korea to help us track the culprit for this virus attack,” Junho’s eyebrows climbed so far they almost hid under his bangs.

“I know it sounds odd, and some of those guys are a bit creepy, I agree, but I tend to think of them as sanitarians, who make sure we have fewer psychos among us… Ah, here we go,” he clicked one square and a pencil drawing came into picture. There was a long-haired man with high nose, big single-lid eyes and a peculiar smile. Junho felt like he was looking at the male version of Mona Lisa (except that he had great eyebrows).

“Let me guess…” he uttered.

“Yep, Master Hudun,” Taec nodded. “Deceased in 1200s so, obviously I can’t go back in time and take a photo of him, but this is a very realistic portrait I’ve acquired quite recently, and I can’t really reveal the source, because I’d have to kill you, ufufufufufu~,” he let out a high-pitched laugh being very satisfied with himself.

“You know, the entire gravity of the situation has just vanished with the ufufufu-part,” Junho pointed out calmly, standing with his elbows rammed at the top of Taec’s backrest. Taec coughed.

“Right. And if you right-click the name, you’ll get a summary of the person’s biography with the most important dates and what not,” he illustrated it by clicking on “Master Hudun” and another window popped up, but it was half-empty. “Naturally, gathering info on this guy is very hard, BUT I’ve gotta say,” he closed the two windows with the data on their ancestor, going back to the intricate page with squares and threads, and clicked on the first square on the left.

A black-and-white photograph popped up, with a man in a white fedora hat, white dress shirt, and dark braces on his shoulders. He had been in a middle of a conversation when the photograph was taken, and he looked to be striking a deal.

Junho moved closer to the screen. The man looked no older than 23 or 25, he had a really handsome face that had you wondering whether this beauty extended to his character, or was it just a trick to make you do whatever he wanted to.

“Mr Park Jaebeom,” Taecyeon introduced. “One of the most recent pics we’ve got of him from 1950s. He’s the living proof of the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover.” The guy only comes up to your shoulders, but darn I wouldn’t want to get on his bad side.”

“Well, if he’s close to being 2000 years old, I would expect nothing less of him,” Junho mused.

“Yeah, but he’s got some bad luck with his progenies,” Taec right-clicked the name and up popped another window with four smaller pictures side by side. There were two decent photographs, a daguerreotype, and a portrait. They were all females and there were dates under the pictures, presumably the time of entering the vampire world, and leaving it. None of them lived longer than two or three hundred years.

Junho just stared dumbly at the screen.

“Our cousins have had this strange tendency to get killed off right after they reach maturity,” Taecyeon babbled on, quite interested in this peculiar trend. “There’s only one left now…” he turned back to Junho and, seeing the stony look on the youngling’s face, he suddenly realized that probably tact and diplomacy weren’t his strongest points. “Oh sorry, my bad, I should’ve realized you wouldn’t want to see that face again…”

Junho shook his head and focused on Taec giving him a reassuring smile.

“It’s alright hyung, I have to face my demons sooner or later,” casting one last glance at the screen, he turned to walk away. “I think I’ve simply had a very long night,” he moved around the desk. “I guess, I’ll just take a quick shower, and then go,” hand to his forehead, Junho walked away with his shoulders hunched as if the entire celestial sphere had perched on him. “Thanks for showing me that.”

“No problemo,” Taec felt guilty for making the kid feel like that. “I’ll wait for you,” he said as Junho closed the door and disappeared in Khun’s personal office bathroom.

Hovering his mouse cursor above the Close button, Taecyeon eyed Junho and Wooyoung maker’s photograph. Below it said: Hwang Miyoung (1795 – 2010).

What a waste, he thought. She would’ve been quite a nice asset to their clan, if she hadn’t broken the rules. Next to her, there was the youngest progeny of Park Jaebeom.

There were times when Taecyeon thought of tracking her down to establish at least a very small connection with the other half of the family. But he always got deterred from doing it by the fact that she still was very young and, most probably, stayed very close to her maker.

A young woman of agreeable appearance looked back at him. The text under the photograph said: Min Sunye (1955 –        ).

 

 

_Glasgow_

 

 

“My lady, you think these bed sheets will be for their liking?” a girl asked, and Amber jolted out of her reverie.

She found herself standing leaned against the door frame with her arms folded across her chest.

“My lady?” the girl asked again, eager to hear the answer, as she had been working really hard all morning, trying to find the right beddings for Lady Amber’s guests.

“Umm…” she gave it a little thought.

It would’ve been great if she knew exactly who was coming and what their preferences were, but the only detail Minjun was generous enough to give away was that it was a “human friend.” So, she opted out for the safest option: white natural cotton sheets with no allergens.

“It’ll be fine,” she said eventually and left the room.

Amber slowly walked down the hall on the second floor of her manor, rolling her eyes. To think there would come a day when I would be worrying over cotton bed sheets… She shook her head and pulled out her smartphone.

She sometimes wondered how it was possible for vampires to use smartphones, but then again, it probably depended on the screen type, and Amber definitely wasn’t going to delve into physics and technology over something like this.

She opened her text messages folder and checked once more the message she had received from Minjun the day before.

 

_Amber,_

_I need a favour. A human friend is coming to Scotland tomorrow, and we need a place to stay. Could I count on you with that one? Your house would be perfect for it. I’ll give you a call in a few hours to confirm._

_Forever in your debt,  
Minjun_

 

He did give her a call after a few hours, and Amber did confirm that she would be OK with this “human friend” staying at her place for a while. Once again, he said he owed her a big one, and promised to explain everything once they got there. Owing her or not, Amber had to admit she found herself liking the fact that she was part of something that concerned Minjun. Their marriage agreement did not cover their personal life and actually, no specific interaction was required.

She liked where she was. Being the Regent of Scotland meant that Amber was more than busy every night and even DAY, but she also knew that there was a lot going on in Minjun’s clan as well. And sometimes she felt being left out.

Every single time she caught herself thinking that, she would reprimand herself for the thought, saying she had no right to be included in their affairs. After all, they were strangers. Well, Emma has been friends with Chansung for ages (literally), but that didn’t mean that a friend of a friend automatically was supposed to be your friend as well, right?

Either way, she was in pretty high spirits, as she walked down the stairs into her spacious hall and hid her phone into her pocket again. Scanning the list of settings inside her head, she remembered that the fridge was full of food, and cupboards had been stocked with Korean cup ramyeon (just in case, she figured the “friend” was Korean), so at least that part was safely covered.

She heard a car outside and low voices talking in Korean after a few seconds. Rubbing her eyes and trying to look presentable (after all, it was past 10 am in the morning), Amber headed towards the main door, but Anthony the human assistant beat her to it and opened the door right after the first ring of the bell. He was quite curious himself, as the lady wasn’t the kind of person to accommodate personal guests on a regular basis.

Minjun stood there, wearing a black leather jacket and a huge scarf around his neck, looking slightly sheepish.

“Good morning,” he smiled when Amber came into his field of vision.

“Morning,” she greeted him. “Do come in.”

“I’m really sorry about imposing this on you,” he said still standing outside on her porch. “It’s just that you’re one of the few people I trust, and this matter does concern you in a way so…”

“You don’t have to explain yourself,” she smiled, feeling even better than before – the word “trust” certainly gave her a major ego boost. “That’s what you have me for,” Amber moved away from the doorstep, allowing him to walk through. “Seriously, come on in. I’m actually glad I’m finally part of your clan’s conspiracies,” she added as Minjun walked inside the manor.

He halted right in front of her and sighed, looking at her with his eyebrows raised slightly, his eyes turning into dark trapeze-shaped wells, which made him look as though he was repenting for something.

“What…” Amber was not used to seeing him like this. For one, he looked adorable. But on the other hand, that was a bit odd. Minjun looked behind his shoulder and the second person walked inside, white snowflakes in his raven-black hair.

Amber knew this person was a human-being, but the level of stealth with which he entered was alarming. The moment he finally looked up from the ground and focused his dark eyes on her, she merely blinked and stared back, quickly going through a myriad of options inside her head on what kind of further plan of action would be the best.

The human friend wore black boots, laced up half-way up his shins, black trousers, black coat… There was a black scarf around his neck. Everything was black about him – his hair, his eyes, his backpack, gloves, and eyebrows; except for his snow-white skin and peach-pink lips. Vapour escaped them when he breathed. Anthony closed the door behind him.

The young man gave a low respectful bow to Amber and opened his mouth to speak:

“Very pleased to meet you, my lady,” his voice was pleasant – soft and husky. “My name is Jaejoong. I am entirely at your service.”

She still stared, and as the silence ensued, Jaejoong gave Minjun the eye as if to say “Hyung, I told you so,” while Minjun simply shrugged, and Jaejoong slung the strap of his backpack off his shoulder and let it fall to the ground.

“I am unarmed,” he said. Amber kicked herself mentally, and slowly offered her hand to him.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she uttered politely. “Pleasure’s all mine,” she shook hands with the man, noting how pleasantly warm his skin was. “My name is Amber, and do make yourself at home.”

“This way please,” Anthony motioned towards the staircase, realizing that the most critical point of the meeting had passed already.

“We will show you to your room,” Amber said as Jaejoong picked up his backpack and they slowly walked after the human assistant. “I presume you must be tired after the flight.”

“I’d like to take a shower immediately, if you do not mind,” there was a distinct accent to his English, although he was considerably better than Wooyoung or Junho – he obviously didn’t stop to think before uttering a sentence.

“Jaejoong, you haven’t slept for over 30 hours,” Minjun pointed out as they climbed up the stairs. “You should get some rest, first.”

“Hyung, you know I need to meet my German clients tomorrow morning, I can’t afford to meet them feeling lousy, and if I sleep now…”

“I get it, I get it…” Minjun waved his hand, although he had long forgotten how the human sleeping patterns worked. He just knew the theoretical part.

“There’s a bathroom with a tub and a shower in your room,” Amber said. “So, I hope it will help.”

“Definitely so, my lady,” Jaejoong gave her another polite nod.

They walked in silence until they approached Jaejoong’s room and Anthony opened the door. Jaejoong took a quick peek at what was inside, and then he turned to Amber with a sweet smile on his face.

“Lovely,” he said. “Thank you. Give me ten minutes,” and with that he disappeared inside the room.

They were left alone in the corridor: Amber, Minjun, and a very tactful Anthony, who slowly crept away from a small storm that he saw coming.

Amber focused on Minjun. He noticed her looking at him pointedly and he gave her a timid smile. That didn’t work. He then tried grinning and blinking rapidly, but the cute act seemed forced, so he stopped immediately with a full intention to say sorry, but Amber spoke first.

“He’s a hunter,” she said with no particular emotion in her voice.

“A very good one at that,” Minjun raised his finger trying to sound important, but Amber gave him the look, and he sighed. “Alright,” he raised his hands as if to imply he had no excuse. “I know it’s slightly unorthodox, but he’s a really decent kid. He’s been working for our prince for years now.”

“Prince Taejo hires a human hunter?” Amber cocked an eyebrow, giving Minjun a doubtful look.

“He’s a top-class hunter!” Minjun was eager to prove his point.

“Really? That kid?” Amber motioned her head towards the closed door. “He looks like he should be in a boy band rather than go off vampire hunting.”

“Have you heard about Yamamoto of the Southern Honshu?” Minjun countered and pointed at the door with his thumb. “His job.”

Amber blinked.

“No way. That old geezer?” her jaw almost dropped.

“Yep.”

“Well, fine,” she folded her arms across her chest.  “As long as he doesn’t chop my head off in my sleep.”

“He usually sleeps at day, no worries,” Minjun waved away Amber’s fears with his right hand. “Tomorrow’s just an exception.”

“Terribly sorry to interrupt,” Jaejoong suddenly appeared in the doorway barefoot and in white tank-top, toothpaste foam around lips and a toothbrush in his mouth. “But would it be possible to get a serving of instant ramyeon? Or is there any shop nearby that sells it? I would go and buy a cup myself.”

Amber pointed behind her back.

“There’s a cupboard full of cup ramyeon downstairs, and you can use the kitchen if you want to cook anything,” she said unfazed.

Jaejoong gave her an appreciative look and then turned to Minjun.

“Oh, hyung,” he wiggled his eyebrows and gave him a toothy grin with his mouth still smudged with toothpaste. “I like her,” and he disappeared behind the door again.

They were left staring behind him.

“I like her,” Amber echoed his words. “Said a 25-year-old kid with a toothpaste moustache above his lip,” she glanced at Minjun. “Great, now I don’t have to be afraid that I’ll be stabbed in my sleep.”

Minjun couldn’t help but snicker. Amber smirked.

“And if he plans to walk around dressed like that, he can stay here for as long as he wants,” she added.

That wiped the smile off Minjun’s face and he bitterly pursed his lips. He wasn’t happy.

 

 

_Edinburgh_

 

The black cat purred in her lap perfectly substituting for a thermo-blanket. Yena scratched Bruno behind the ear and clicked the Skype icon on her desktop.

She hated Skype, but she was not about to go all the way to Glasgow to report her findings, so a video conference was the lesser evil.

It was past 9 in the evening, and she had dark circles under her eyes because she hadn’t slept the night before. With heavy eye make-up and dark green circle lenses emphasizing her big expressive eyes on her pale face, Yena looked like a member of exquisite extra-terrestrial species. But she finally had some answers (albeit non-final ones), so she thought she could hold this video conference to kill time.

Skype finally loaded and she clicked the call button, waiting for the other end to respond. Bruno purred.

The house was almost empty save for Ok Taecyeon who’d spent the entire day locked in his room. Junho was still away, wherever he’d been staying at now. She actually missed the kid. With the other youngling constantly avoiding her, Yena almost thought she smelled or something, considering Wooyoung would dart to the opposite direction whenever he saw her.

Speaking of the devil, he was out again training with Chansung and Junho, while Khun was finally allowed to go out, and so he was supposed to be working at his company at the moment. Therefore, she was left home alone with the cat. Or two (depending on how you looked at it).

Finally, her call was answered, and for a second, she had to pull back from her screen because it was suddenly filled with a naked bronze collarbone that was Minjun trying to adjust the webcam.

“Is this thing on in the first place?” she heard him mumble in Korean.

“Did I call at the wrong time?” Yena asked cocking an eyebrow and he definitely heard her, because soon it was his face and not his shoulder filling up her screen with a happy smile.

“Hello!” he grinned. “We mounted an HD-camera; it can cover an entire room!”

Yena blinked, not sure how she was supposed to react, so she settled for calm and non-judgemental.

“Why are you wearing that?” she meant the one single thing Minjun had on his upper-body: the black tank-top.

“Ah… that…” he looked away sheepishly.

“Hyung, zoom out the video,” a soft husky voice urged, and for a second there, Yena prayed that Minjun wouldn’t be in a middle of some bizarre men-only vampire dinner party. But when the stream got stable enough for her to watch it without narrowing her eyes, she saw a sand-coloured sofa and three people on it.

Amber sat in the middle with an unfamiliar man on her right. Yena could immediately tell he was human, but there was something very odd about him, and it was not only the fact that he wore black sweatpants and a white tank-top in the presence of the Regent of Scotland.

Soon after, Minjun joined them on the sofa, sitting down on Amber’s left and making himself comfortable. Yena blinked again, slowly taking in the picture on her screen.

“How do you do?” she tried the safest word combination she could think of.

“Evening, Yena,” Amber answered, obviously feeling highly amused by the situation at hand. “As you can see,” she motioned at the two men in singlets around her. “I’m doing quite fine.”

“Umm,” Yena moved her mouse cursor towards the red phone icon. “Perhaps I should call some other time,” she mused.

“No, Yena, it’s ok!” Minjun assured her, waving his hand at the camera. “This is Jaejoong,” he gestured at the black-haired man. “He’s the hunter I’ve once told you of.”

“Please to meet you,” she gave an automatic nod.

“How d’you do?” Jaejoong nodded back at her.

She noticed he had a big mug of steamy beverage in his right hand. The whole picture reminded her of a family gathering for an evening round of some telly watching…

Wait a second, Yena narrowed her eyes. They really sat quite far away from the camera; she could see the entire sofa on her screen.

“Am I… projected on your TV?” she asked suspicion rising.

“Yes, you are,” Minjun confirmed nodding his head. “This was the best way for us all to see and hear you.”

Yena literally hit her head onto her desk, growling silently. Her face. Her tired, ghostly face projected all over a huge TV in front of three beautiful people. Never mind, she sat up straight again, puffing stray blonde strands away from her eyes, ready to be done with it.

“Splendid,” she said gathering her notes together to buy some time and rearrange her thoughts, although she knew exactly what she wanted to say. “Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to get on with it.”

“Please do,” Minjun nodded, surreptitiously slinging his arm around Amber’s shoulders, while Jaejoong merely snorted at how childish sometimes millennium-old beings can be.

“Right, so…” Yena coughed and checked two sheets of paper placed right in front of her screen. The notes were really sketchy, but they were supposed to give her a starting point. “The good thing is that this Dornoch virus thing doesn’t seem to be too dangerous. It’s obviously synthetic, so it’s possible to reverse it, but the bad thing is that it might take quite some time to create an antidote, because I haven’t managed to isolate it yet. Whoever made it, they had tons of time and a huge lab with a million of assistants, and there’s only one of me.”

“You’ve still done more than we could’ve hoped for,” Minjun commended looking thoughtful. “And we can get you tons of assistants…”

“I can only suffer Junho, but if I had to work with other scientists from Khun’s company, you know I’d poison them in no time,” Yena threatened.

“That sure I do,” Minjun nodded, while Amber blinked at how serious and actually scary Yena looked when she said that. “Do continue.”

“Right,” Yena nodded. “Just as I’ve said before, this virus disrupts the link between the imprint and the vampire DNA. Physically, it makes them unable to consume blood. Now, I was thinking about it and you know… when you get down to the mechanics of how this virus works, it seems more annoying than dangerous.

“For one, it seems to be more dangerous to younger vampires, because someone as old as you or Lady Amber could go without a feed for months…”

“But you also said that the immediate cure is blood with the same imprint,” Minjun pointed out. “And if there’s none…”

“I could always place that vampire under an IV treatment, you know you all can’t die off that easy,” Yena interrupted him. “If you asked me, this virus is more like a hindrance or a tool I would use in a fight, if I were a vampire.”

“Do explain,” Amber leaned forward. Jaejoong simply cocked one dark eyebrow.

“If you lose a lot of blood in a fight, the need to replenish the blood levels grows tremendously, and if you were to render your opponent unable to feed, that would definitely put almost all of the odds in your favour.”

“It seems too much work for something with so little effect,” Jaejoong pointed out and sipped his drink.

“My thoughts exactly,” Yena nodded, figuring this Jaejoong guy was not too bad. “That’s why I think they’re still developing it. I mean, that attack on the vampire in Dornoch was obviously a test. But even so, I suppose it would work well only on younger vampires. It would not make sense to infect anyone older than two hundred,” Yena scrunched her nose. “I wouldn’t bother.”

“Can you make the antidote?” Minjun asked.

“I can, but it might take months to analyse the entire virus structure,” Yena rubbed her cheek. “Perhaps even longer if you decide to label Wooyoung.”

“What does Wooyoung have to do with all of this?” Minjun frowned slightly, although Amber had a sort of a _ding-dong-daeng_ expression on her face.

“Well, obviously,” Yena began as if explaining it to a small child. “Wooyoung doesn’t have an imprint, so there’s nothing to disrupt, ergo, the virus does not affect him. And his blood allows me to get the hang of how this infection works.”

“Well, he doesn’t seem too eager to get an imprint, so you still have time,” Minjun smiled. “Drain him all you want.”

“Why thank you,” Yena actually giggled, placing her hand on top of her mouse. “That’ll be all, I think. You can go back to your little party.”

“Thank you for the briefing, Yena,” Minjun smiled getting up from the sofa. “I’d appreciate it if you continued working on it, and if you need anything, just say the word.”

“Will do,” she nodded, moving the cursor towards “Hang up” icon. “Have a good night.”

“Good night~”

“Night~”

“Sweet dreams!”

And with a _click_ , the image on her screen disappeared. Only a dark desktop wallpaper and a faint reflection of her face stared right back at her. Yena sighed and looked down.

Bruno raised his head from her lap and focused his yellow-green eyes on her.

“Mrreow?” he said.

“I know,” she patted him on his furry black head. “But no more canned food for you today, you’re getting fat.”

Bruno mewed in protest, got up to his feet arching his back, and jumped off her lap, mincing towards the door. Rolling her eyes and slowly getting off her chair, Yena walked over to the door and grabbed the knob to open it.

She turned the knob and pulled the door at herself with the intention to let the cat out. She almost jumped with surprise to see Ok Taecyeon standing there right in front of her door, with his hand raised as if he was just about to knock. Bruno minced away into the hall without any ceremonies, leaving the two bipeds staring dumbly at each other.

“Can I help you?” Yena cocked an eyebrow as Taecyeon didn’t look like he was about to start talking any time soon. He seemed hesitant.

“Uhh… yeah, there was… something,” he hemmed in his low voice.

“Well?” Yena pressed, not exactly sure why he became so timid all of a sudden. Ok Taecyeon was many things, but shy wasn’t one of them.

“Uhh… Here,” he offered a thick bound file. He felt either too embarrassed or too uncomfortable to look her directly in the eye.

“What is this?” she took the file and eyed the title page, not exactly understanding what she was seeing.

“Your graduate thesis,” Taecyeon blurted out, mentally shielding himself from her and from his own stupidity.

“My… what?” she gave him an incredulous eye, and then focused on the front page again. It said _“_[ _Protein Complexes in Ubiquitin Enzymology and Signalling: Translesion DNA Synthesis and E2-E3 Assembly_](http://books.google.lt/books/about/Protein_Complexes_in_Ubiquitin_Enzymolog.html?id=I9y3YgEACAAJ&redir_esc=y) _*_ _,_ _Yena Kinlan, Edinburgh, 2011.”_

She didn’t know how to react. She wanted to scream and slap him with the file, but she feared the papers would fall out of her hand if she did that, and the action would lose its impact. She felt betrayed. She hated that, but she hated herself even more for feeling this way.

“Is this some kind of a joke?” she asked looking up at him, her voice stone-cold. “Ok Taecyeon,” she raised the file higher. “You of all people… I thought you’d understand…”

He felt like he had stabbed himself with three wooden stakes. Clenching his teeth, Taecyeon fought the urge to look away and withstood her intense glare.

“I just thought…” he began.

“Thought what?” she interrupted sounding very disappointed. “And on top of that… “Protein Complexes in Ubiquitin Enzymology?” That’s a post-doctoral level research!” the cold anger inside her surged up. “Is this what you’ve been working on in your room all day long?” Yena threw the file back at him. “Unbelievable,” she turned away from him and walked back to her desk.

“But you never…” he stepped inside her room, feeling like a thief.

“Just because I was never going to write it, it doesn’t mean you can just go and write it for me!” she turned around on her heel, facing him with dark red spots on her pale cheeks. She was getting really angry. “Seriously, Ok Taecyeon, are you out of your mind?! Would you like someone else just barge into your life, and do something for you?! Huh!” her voice was a lot louder than the usual. “Would you?!”

“Well, no I…”

“Then why do you do this to me?!” she was on the verge of crying already. “I didn’t ask for your help. I know I’m incompetent, I know I can’t do anything right, but it doesn’t mean you can just move in like a Good Samaritan and fix things. It just doesn’t work that way, God~!” she looked up, fighting back the tears, breathing heavily.

“I’m sorry,” he looked down, wrapping the pages into a tube. “You don’t have to use it.”

“Don’t have to…” Yena gasped and scoffed. “The fact that you thought of writing it for me and that you’ve actually done it is enough to make me wanna rip you to pieces. Ooooh~ I wish I could,” she was thrashing around. “But no, Mr Ok Taecyeon is giving me a CHOICE to opt out of using the wonderful graduation paper he wrote for me… one question Taec,” she halted, ramming her hands into her sides and narrowing her eyes. “Do you like humiliating people, or are you just a dumb, socially-inept nerd, because then it…” she stuttered mid-sentence because Taec’s face suddenly turned blurry and the ground sort of began spinning.

Taec felt it coming even before she felt the symptoms, and he dashed to her in a split second, catching her before she flopped down onto the floor, feeling exhausted and frustrated. Her nose bumped into his collarbone and Yena frowned hissing.

“When was the last time you had a thorough check-up?” she heard his voice boom very close to her ear, and it send shivers down her spine she did not enjoy because she was all covered in cold sweat from the fit she had just thrown. “And your medicine?” his hand lightly squeezed at her left shoulder.

“Ran out of that,” Yena put her hand to her forehead, trying to make her breathing regular again. “I need a prescription to get another set, and only my doctor can…” she hushed in the middle of the sentence and looked up at him, suddenly realizing just how close he was.

Her eyes wide open, Yena stared at Taec, then at the thesis in his right hand, then back at him. He blinked innocently at her, while Yena narrowed her eyes.

“You bastard!!” she punched him in the chest with everything she had and freed herself away from him, hurrying out of the room and down the corridor.

Taec closed his eyes and gave a little sigh. As far as the punch went, he barely felt a thing because Yena was rather weak, even for a human. For the last few minutes, he felt like he’d been bricked, stabbed, staked hundreds of times, and yet he could do nothing else but accept it wholeheartedly, because he brought it upon himself.

He knew it was a rather ugly thing to do. He felt terrible about that (he wasn’t THAT socially obtuse), and he hated seeing her weak, but it was the only way around her defences. He still hated himself for doing that. He would’ve banged his head into the wall hundreds of times (until the wall would’ve crumbled) if that had made up for what he’d done.

Clenching the tube of paper in his right hand, he hurried after her.

“Where are you going?!” he exclaimed as he ran down the corridor. When he reached the top of stairs, he saw her already putting her coat on and wrapping a thick scarf around her neck.

“Hospital!” she mumbled crossly through her scarf, shooting him a death glare.

“It’s close to 10 pm, your GP won’t be there!” he reasoned. Yena scoffed at him.

“Well, they will take my blood sample at the ED, seeing the state I am in!” she declared jumping into her shoes.

I need a therapy, Taecyeon thought covering his face with his palm. This was when his phone vibrated and he fished around his jeans back pocket for it with his other arm, having dropped the thesis somewhere along the corridor. There was a message from Bobby.

_Did you tell Khun about the inconsistencies in the charity donations accounts?_

… Crap. Ok Taecyeon kicked himself mentally hard. He had completely forgotten.

 

_BANG_

 

The door of the house closed sharply, indicating that Yena had left the building. Taecyeon blinked. Happy place, he told himself, think, happy place. Happy place… Omm…

Gripping his phone firmly in his hand and pointing at the door, he yelled:

“Yah~! Crazy human~!! Wait up!!” and then he ran down the stairs as fast as he could.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

* Yes, Ok Taecyeon just copy-pasted. But he knew it wouldn't be used, so please cut him some slack 🥺

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello~! :)
> 
> This is a pretty long installment, but it was surprisingly easy to edit.  
> Perhaps because there was a lot of dialogue.
> 
> I fear the day when I run out of the editing content, and I will have to actually sit down and write on. OTL.
> 
> Please light a candle somewhere for my brain juices.
> 
> 🖤  
> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Egle0702)  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Egle0702)


	20. #20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🔷 The cast is trying to deal with the aftermath of the previous chapter and two assaults, woop~  
> 🔷 There's just a lot happening. Really.

_Seoul_

 

Snow squeaked under their feet as they slowly walked down the hilly path in Namsan Park. It was close to 6 am and the sky was still dark, but the lamps in the park kept everything perfectly illuminated with the fresh heaps of snow still covering benches, tree branches, stones, and even the lampposts. The world was still without a single trace of wind. It was this very moment of calm, right before the morning buzz and racket.

They walked on until they reached a bridge above a small pond and stopped to look at inches of snow on stones and columns. There was a thin layer of ice on the surface of the pond so even that one could’ve thought wind did not exist in this place. She was bound to stand there forever, absorbing every bit and piece of a detail: from a small branch at the top of a tree to every single snowflake glimmering like a polished diamond in the artificial light, but then her phone vibrated.  _Unng~_ , it said.

Dongjun looked left to see Emma rummage in her coat pocket. She pulled out a sleek phone and unlocked the screen to check the new message. He watched her profile as she smiled softly, locked her phone, and put it back into her pocket. She turned to look at him.

“Well,” Emma said. “Seems like I’ll be leaving soon.”

“Something happened?” his eyebrows knotted in a worried frown.

“No,” she shook her head. “Just…” she smiled focusing at nothing in particular on his thick winter jacket. “My… friend said she talked to her fiancée, and they decided there’s no more need for me to stay here if the Prince doesn’t “ _vouchsafe a reply_ ,” she drew imaginary quotation marks with her fingers. “She said she would send an official envoy, and I was simply doing her a favour… which is true,” she shrugged.

“So… you’ll just leave?” Dongjun asked working hard on his poker-face, but his voice betrayed his was disappointment.

“We still have like an hour and a half until sunrise, so I won’t be leaving immediately,” she smiled at him but he didn’t find it funny. He gave her a disapproving eye and then looked away, focusing on the pond.

“You know what I mean,” he grumbled.

Emma didn’t know what to say. When she learned to embrace the idea that Dongjun wasn’t just an under-aged stalker and got to spend some time with the kid, she learned he was a very sociable person, and fun to be with. Also, she found out he actually turned nineteen and not eighteen as she had presupposed. Well, not that it made a big difference, but at least he was out of high school (she bought him a birthday/graduation dinner a few days ago, and gave him a promise not to bite him when he was too stuffed with food to walk). Although that was just a minor detail that didn’t add up to the overall set of arguments for her to stay. As much as she liked the kid, he was still… a kid.

She didn’t answer. Dongjun sighed kicking an imaginary stone and simply rammed his boot into a snowdrift.

“You’re not done with teaching me Middle Korean,” he mumbled. Emma snickered.

“I’ve taught you all the necessary basics, it should be enough.”

He noticed that lately smile rarely left her face, and it was refreshing because at the beginning, she used to be really gloomy and frustrated.

“Unless you want to read historical texts, but you would need to learn tons of hanja for that…” she hushed finally thinking it over. “Dongjun-ah,” she sounded confused. “Why on _earth_ do you need Middle Korean?”

“I want to impress my professor.”

She snorted.

“No, but seriously?”

Dongjun smiled and looked at her.

“Seriously? I want to know what the old vampires are talking behind my back,” he declared without skipping a beat. “I’m enrolling in the Korean History study program this spring, and I think it should help too. But it’s always better to learn from the original source.”

Emma narrowed her eyes giving him a suspicious glance. She figured kids were supposed to be given their way to make mistakes and learn from them. However, she didn’t want him to get into any kind of trouble.

“Sometimes ignorance is bliss,” she said.

“Yeah, but,” he stared down at his feet. “I’ve been in this since like… what… middle school? And something tells me I’m stuck in this vampire stuff for life. So, I might as well just arm myself as best as I can.”

“Wouldn’t they find it suspicious?”

“Well, that’s why I’m asking you,” Dongjun smirked. “You’re not affiliated with anyone… kinda…”

Emma didn’t say a thing. She just stared at him, no expression whatsoever on her face.

“But you’re right,” he then said suddenly, feeling slightly uncomfortable under her intent gaze. “I would need to know a lot more hanja to be at least decent…”

“Well, you don’t need me to learn hanja,” she said. “Good old dictionaries are full of that,” she gestured with her arms indicating just how big those dictionaries were.

“But I still need someone to check on my progress,” he pouted, knowing he looked cute when he did that and also knowing it didn’t work on Emma, but he thought she should at least appreciate the effort.

Emma clicked her tongue eyeing him up and down. The question “how old are you” was at the tip of her tongue, but she decided against voicing it out.

“Fine,” she said. “For starters… 5000 characters. I’ll give you time until… Hmm…” she made a rough mental calculation. “May. I’ll come to check on you then.”

Dongjun grinned taking off his glove and offering her a handshake.

“Deal,” he said being over the moon. Emma offered him a lop-sided smirk and a lukewarm hand.

“Deal.”

The moment they shook their hands she froze, her expression changing from warm to ice cold. Dongjun felt her grow tense, and he’d spent too much time with vampires to know better than ask pointless questions like “what’s wrong.” Instead, he simply uttered calmly, still holding her hand:

“How many?”

Emma slowly turned her head to the right, listening closely to every single minute sound her sensitive ears could catch. Her self-esteem flared. And she was annoyed that somebody disrupted this pleasant walk in a park. But she forced herself to calm down. There was no way they were going to ambush her in the middle of Seoul.

“Four,” she said just as calm and then looked at him and their hands that were still in a firm grip. “You’d better go.”

“No way,” he protested. “I’m trained and I’m armed.”

“With what? A silver dagger? Against hunters?” Emma cocked a well-defined eyebrow.

“It still hurts when you stab someone with it,” Dongjun argued. Emma almost rolled her eyes.

“Just don’t do anything stupid,” she warned. “Here it comes, duck~!” the vampire hissed pulling Dongjun down as a small arrow with a silver head zoomed right above their heads.

They quickly turned around, crouching back to back and scanning the area in front of them. Dongjun’s heart beat fast. But he was up against ordinary humans (albeit well-trained in combat), so he figured he wasn’t risking much.

Another arrow zoomed close and he pushed Emma out of the way, rolling with her into a heap of snow. He landed on top of her and a shiver ran down his spine when a handful of snow got behind his collar. Puffing stray strands away from her eyes Emma glared at him:

“Don’t DO that,” she hissed.

“Ah!” Dongjun gasped and frowned when something sharp hit his back.

Emma pushed him away and sat up, turning him around and pulling out a shot of quicksilver and a silver needle that got stuck in Dongjun’s skin.

“THIS,” she showed him a full shot that luckily hadn’t entered his system – she got it out on time. “Is what happens when you don’t do as I say,” she growled through her clenched teeth and got up to her feet so fast Dongjun could barely register her move. “Don’t move,” she ordered.

She just stood there with her head low, listening closely, the entire world closing in on her, until suddenly she looked up and flung the quicksilver shot somewhere at her right, at the same time catching another silver-head arrow with her left hand and sending it flying back to where it came from. It all happened in a split of a second, and two muted thuds that followed indicated the targets got hit.

Emma turned her head sharply to the left to see a third person run at her with a crossbow in his hands. He was twice bigger than her, but she almost rolled her eyes at how stupid it was for a hired hunter to come out in the open like this. Not even bothering to humour him, she lunged at the hunter and knocked him out with one single blow in the head. He didn’t even manage take aim at her.

The big man flopped down onto the snowy path like a bag of potatoes, his crossbow falling right next to him. She took the weapon without any second thought and turned around to see Dongjun standing a few feet away, panting slightly. There was the fourth hunter lying a bit further away from him with a silver dagger in his thigh. White snow coloured in scarlet red. Emma stopped using her nose.

Dongjun must have knocked him out pretty well if the man couldn’t get up with a single wound on his leg. He was still conscious, so Emma decisively walked straight to him with the crossbow in her right hand. Dongjun almost forgot how to breathe when he saw her coming, her hair slightly dishevelled and her coat unbuttoned, a resolute expression on her face suddenly showing exactly how old she was.

She touched Dongjun’s shoulder on her way, giving the kid her approval. Finally halting in front of the hunter and looking him directly in the eye, she asked:

“Who sent you?”

The hunter was simply wheezing and cursing under his breath, totally ignoring her. Emma lifted the crossbow and shot him in his left shoulder without blinking an eye.

“Who sent you?” she repeated louder and in English.

The man simply glared at her, obviously indicating he was not going to answer. Unfazed, she leaned down, pulled out the arrow making the man groan in pain, loaded the crossbow again and shot him in the right shoulder. He growled, trying to swallow down a moan.

“WHO. SENT. YOU?” Emma asked once again, boring into the man with her grey-blue eyes. Realizing she would keep on making holes in his body until he said something or lost consciousness, the man croaked:

“The collector.”

Emma stared at the man looking absolutely expressionless. She then swung the crossbow hitting him in the temple and rendering him unconscious.

“Figures,” she grumbled.

Dongjun watched her stand here with her back straight and the crossbow at her side, a slight winter wind playing with her hair. She turned left slowly, and there was something in the way she held herself that made her look colder than winter.

Dongjun realized there were so many things in between. So many years, events, people, experiences. He was just a tiny drop, a fleeting image in an overall landscape that made up her world. But he wasn’t scared of this Emma he’d seen just now. For better or worse, it only made him admire her even more.

Emma pulled her phone out of her pocket and speed-dialled a number. The call was answered rather fast.

“Khotan sent a few bugs to pack me up,” she said without any ceremonial. “Positive,” she said when a person at the other asked something. “I’m going to report them to the Seoul clan, but I think you should keep an eye on Khun, and especially that boy of yours. The one without an imprint. Just in case,” she listened to the person speak. “Of course, I’ll let you know how it went, and Chansung…” Emma bit her lip before continuing. “Don’t do anything stupid… I know. That’s why I’m telling you,” and she ended the conversation.

Sliding the phone back into her pocket, Emma dropped the crossbow, turned around, and walked over to Dongjun. He still felt slightly dazed. Gripping him under his armpit, she helped him up and brushed the snow away from his jacket.

“Come on,” she said meeting his eyes and giving him a reassuring smile. “Let’s go patch you up.”

 

 

_Edinburgh_

 

 

Chansung stared at his phone thoughtfully for a while, until Wooyoung walked to him almost close enough to put his chin on his shoulder.

“Hyung?” he asked.

Chansung looked up to see Junho watching with a curious and a slightly worried look on his face.

“You alright?” he said.

“Ah, right, sure,” Chansung nodded a few times, his space recognition finally expanding enough to realize he was once again in the warehouse with the two younglings, ready for another training session. He had been holding a silver dagger in his hand when Emma called. Now he was clenching it. “Everything’s fine,” he said eventually, giving the boys a warm smile and putting his phone away next to the wall.

“Are you gonna pummel us again?” Junho asked, taking off his jacket. This time, he had put on black joggers and a black t-shirt just to be safe.

“Judging from the number of blood bags he’s brought with him, I’d say yes,” Wooyoung pouted kicking off his trainers. He was not going to risk his other favourite pair this time.

“Actually,” Chansung cleared his throat rolling up the sleeves of his blue chequered shirt. “I am going to show you something else at first… Junho, remember, you asked me what to do when a vampire a lot older than you challenges you to a duel?”

“Yes?” he walked closer intrigued. “Is there a special technique or what?”

“There’s THIS,” Chansung said and hurled the dagger at him.

 

 

😱

 

 

Wooyoung only had a split of a second to register what happened.

He felt very cold and surprised beyond reason when Junho, who had been standing right next to him, succumbed to his knees with an expression of fear and astonishment in his widened eyes, his lips slightly open and a silver dagger plunged directly into his heart.

He clenched his fists to stop them from shaking. His mind was telling him there had to be an explanation for this because it felt absolutely unreasonable, but his entire being was fighting the urge to shake like a leaf. Wooyoung was genuinely scared.

“Hyung!” he hissed brushing past Chansung and crouching in front of Junho, who was kneeling with no signs of life whatsoever, his head hung low. “What the actual hell?!” he glanced back at Chansung with a pleading look in his eyes. Wooyoung was relieved to see Junho hasn’t disintegrated yet, but his body was locked in a strange stupor.

“Get a few blood bags from the container,” Chansung ordered unfazed. “A positive,” he walked over and squatted down in front of Junho. “He’ll need it.”

Wooyoung glanced left at Chansung, feeling a small flicker of hope light up, and seeing that the elder was absolutely serious, he got up without any questions asked. However, after a few steps towards the wall and the small blood container Chansung had brought, he snatched frowning at his chest.

“Ow… That’s new…”

“What is?” Chansung called after him.

“I don’t know…” the corners of Wooyoung’s lips sagged down as he rubbed his chest. He opened the container and pulled out two bags of A positive and a straw. “It just… stung,” he said walking back.

“Well, you two don’t share an imprint, but you’re still twins,” Chansung mused taking one bag from him when Wooyoung squatted down in front of Junho again. The elder opened the blood bag and stuck the straw into it, giving it back to Wooyoung. “Take a step back,” he said, putting his left hand on Junho’s shoulder and gripping the hilt of the dagger with his right. “He might thrash around a little bit.”

Wooyoung waddled obediently two steps back with the blood bags in his hands and when Chansung made sure the youngling was at the safe distance from his twin, he gripped the hilt tight and pulled the dagger out at once.

Junho’s body suddenly jolted backwards, his eyes wide open, his mouth taking a deep coarse breath. Unable to hold his balance, he plopped down onto his butt, instinctively gasping for air even if he didn’t need it. He looked around frantically, feeling like a fish out of water, and once he spotted Chansung kneeling quite close to him, the bloody dagger in his hand; it was like a string snapped inside his head.

Growling, Junho lunged at him in such a speed that Wooyoung was left there squatting clueless when Chansung got tackled down with a very unbalanced Junho on top of him, gripping both of his wrists, the dagger lying further away. Junho still panted heavily, blood glistening at the left corner of his mouth. The stab in his heart definitely had some consequences. But he was too shocked and angry to notice.

“THE FUCK?!!” he yelled at Chansung.

“Good question,” Chansung nodded. “Now if you let go, I’ll explain.”

Junho coughed and pulled back, cupping his mouth with his hand because he felt more blood coming. Wooyoung edged closer offering him a blood bag.

“Thank you,” Junho said and took a sip, still keeping his eyes on Chansung.

“You’re ok?” Wooyoung asked, worried about long-term consequences of a silver stab.

“It was more terrifying rather than painful, to be honest,” Junho admitted. “I thought it was wood, and I was like, good-bye world, but it just cut off my senses. It felt like being underwater. I couldn’t move a muscle. And it felt like I was about to start suffocating…” he shivered and took another long sip. “Although I kept on telling myself that I don’t need oxygen, it still felt like my brain was being squeezed.”

“So, you see,” Chansung sat up and crossed his legs. “A silver dagger in your heart doesn’t kill you, but it successfully paralyzes you, and if that happens in a fight, you’re as good as gone.”

Junho mulled everything over as he sipped on his straw, the blood bag significantly emptier than a few seconds ago. The wound in his chest had closed up already.

“So, if we paralyze the opponent, their skills and age no longer matter, right?” Wooyoung concluded.

“Correct,” Chansung nodded. “You can just go and drain your opponent then.”

“But if it’s a one-on-one duel with an experienced vampire,” Junho said, his voice lower than the usual with all the blood coating his vocal cords. “It’s quite a feat to catch him off guard. I don’t suppose stabbing someone in the heart is an easy thing to do.”

“No, it is not,” Chansung agreed. “That’s why your speed puts you at an advantage,” he stared Junho directly in the eye. “You’ve caught me off guard just now.”

“Yah, seriously,” Wooyoung leaned forward, giving Junho the second bag. “Junho, that was REALLY fast.”

Junho smirked satisfied.

“You think,” he wiggled his eyebrows, finishing the second bag in a few long sips.

“That’s why I think,” Chansung got up from the cold floor. “Daggers will be added to our training schedule,” he picked the dagger from the floor, cleaned it into his sleeve and offered it to Junho. “Because you two definitely need some practice.”

Junho and Wooyoung met each other’s eye and got up to their feet again. Junho gripped the dagger that had paralyzed his heart and eyed the hilt, noticing sophisticated carvings and engravings. He knew there was a wooden stake hidden inside it.

“What do I practice on?” he asked seriously.

Chansung’s focus moved from Junho to Wooyoung and then back to Junho. The latter grinned mischievously like a very satisfied Cheshire cat and turned to look at Wooyoung. Wooyoung’s eyes darted from one man to the other. He pulled a nervous smile.

“You’re joking right?”

“Come on,” Junho batted his eyelashes at him, putting on a foxy face. Wooyoung would’ve laughed if he weren’t that nervous. “It’ll only hurt for a second.”

“Are you for real?” Wooyoung pulled back.

“Don’t worry,” Chansung chuckled. “It’s absolutely safe with me around, and I’ll let you stab Junho next…” he hushed and then burst into a fit of giggles, realizing how grotesque it sounded.

Wooyoung retreated backwards, his hands in front of him.

“I’d rather not,” he laughed, and when Junho bit his lip and flipped the dagger in his hand, he choked: “No way... Junho, no,” he turned away and ran. However, Wooyoung was not the best runner in the clan.

“Jang Wooyoung!” Junho called behind him, and right when Wooyoung turned around, he hurled the dagger. It hit the target after a split of a second.

“Argh!” Wooyoung flopped. “The hell, Junho!! My thigh!!”

Junho winced and clenched his teeth, pulling a forced smile to indicate that he was not going for that kind of outcome.

“Right,” Chansung nodded. “We will definitely need to work on your aim.”

 

***

 

There was a shift in breathing, and Taecyeon opened his eyes. He looked left. Blonde hair covered his left thigh. Yena was lying on a long bench in a hospital hall, his sweater for her pillow, his long coat for her blanket. Taecyeon sat with a black tank-top on, earning confused glances from doctors and patients alike. However, he obviously wasn’t cold so they didn’t bother him, especially as they got used to the couple in the hall after a few hours of stay.

Yena fell asleep on the bench right after a kind-looking nurse had taken her blood sample. Taec was about to offer her to go home, but she dozed off so fast he didn’t have a heart to wake her up. He also thought she wouldn’t go to sleep if they were to go back home, so he let her sleep there. He simply had covered her with his coat, and after a few seconds of consideration, he had also taken off his sweater, folded it, and gently pushed it under her head.

Now he saw her open her eyes and stare at the hospital wall in front of her with a slight frown on her face, as if she wasn’t exactly sure where she was and how she’d got there. Taecyeon checked his watch. It was close to 6 am, which meant she’d slept for almost 7 hours and they still had an hour before sunrise. He figured if she still felt sleepy, Yena could continue exploring the dreamland back at home.

He stole a glance at her again, and this time she saw it. He couldn’t look away when their eyes met; there was something indescribable in the way she looked at him. She really didn’t need circle lenses; her eyes were deep and expressive enough.

Yena looked away, but she didn’t show any intention to get up any time soon. Taecyeon raised his left hand and froze for a second, wondering whether it was a right thing to do. It didn’t feel forced, so he figured that whatever felt right, was right.

She didn’t flinch when Taec’s fingers began gently combing through her hair. She actually hated those fingers. Yena had always thought they were ugly, and his hands were too small for someone his size, but one thing everyone had to admit was that Ok Taecyeon was exceptionally skilled in anything that involved using those hands. He could even stitch and sew like nobody’s business.

“You know…” he uttered when she closed her eyes again. “There are a lot of things you can do right.”

Yena opened her eyes again. Taec took it as a sign that she was listening.

“You’re good at science,” he continued. “And you’re good at writing. I used to check your A levels essays, remember? They were perfect…”

“It used to take me three days to write a page,” Yena pointed out.

“That’s cuz you wanted them to be perfect.”

“Perfect or nothing, Ok Taecyeon,” Yena deadpanned.

“Even vampires aren’t perfect,” he shrugged. “Besides, it’s really boring when everything’s perfect. There’s no room for improvement,” his fingertips were gently drawing circles on her scalp. “Like, I would love to go to a gym and sweat, and work on my abs, but what can I do?” he thumped his chest with his right fist. “There’s no room for improvement.”

Yena snorted and slowly got up from the bench. She turned around to look at him, and there were small bits of mascara that crumbled off under her eyes while she was asleep. He found it cute, but he knew it better than to say anything about it, because Yena would’ve freaked out and run to the restroom to wipe it off.

“You’re walking on a very thin line,” she said giving him the sweater back.

Taec offered her a kind smile as he took the sweater and put it on. His dark hair stood on end at the top of his head from all the static energy in his sweater. Yena smirked and sighed reaching out and smoothing the tuft of his thick hair. Taec hunched a little as if expecting a blow, his dark eyes shooting back and forth, not exactly sure what he should make of it.

“Ten years or one hundred,” Yena grumbled when his unruly hair didn’t want to be smoothed. “You’re all the same, aren’t you?”

“Does this mean you’re using the thesis?” he blinked several times trying to pull a cute face, but it obviously didn’t work because Yena ended up punching him in the shoulder. There wasn’t much force in her fist though.

“Protein Complexes in Ubiquitin Enzymology? Seriously?” she gave him a judging eye.

“It was worth a try though,” he shrugged looking away as Yena clicked her tongue rolling her eyes and offering him the coat back.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“Six in the morning,” Taec got up to his feet, putting on his coat. Yena sighed.

“It’ll be a pain trying to call a cab.”

Taecyeon was about to nod, but then he grinned.

“I have a better idea, if you’re up for it.”

Yena looked up at him.

“What?” she cocked one eyebrow suspiciously.

Taec simply smirked offering her his hand, as if he was about to take her on an adventure. Weighing all her chances and possibilities, Yena figured that staying with Taec was better than trudging home alone. She took his hand and Taec pulled her up from the bench.

 

***

 

Wooyoung slid his hand under his shirt and slowly worked his way up his abs and pectorals, his fingertips painstakingly slowly following every single curve and vein he could come across. Eventually, all five fingers stuck out through five holes on his shirt close to his heart.

“Nice aim,” he wiggled his fingers and glanced at Junho.

Junho stood in his boxer briefs, holding his joggers high above his head, trying to see exactly where Wooyoung’s dagger had hit. Twice.

There were two holes very close to the crotch area. He turned his head, cocking his eyebrow and looking Wooyoung straight in the eye.

“You don’t say,” he said. Wooyoung grinned, his eyebrows rising in a fiendish way although that was only partly visible due to his wall of a hair.

“It would grow back in the case of emergency anyway,” Chansung patted Junho on the shoulder as he walked by, gathering the swords and daggers they’d used in their practice. “No worries.”

Both Junho and Wooyoung widened their eyes and then sniggered in sync, probably the same image popping up into their heads.

“You sound like you know what you’re talking about,” Junho laughed, putting his trousers back on. He was in good spirits, but he felt tired because they had run out of blood bags and, even though all of their wounds healed, they still had a little bit too much of silver for one night.

Chansung looked up from his customized sword box and offered the younglings a mischievous grin.

“It wasn’t me,” he said. The younglings snorted again and went back to putting on what was left of their clothes. Their training session was over, and they had a little bit more than half an hour left to get home before the sunrise.

“If it makes you feel better,” Wooyoung uttered wriggling into his clean hoodie. “It actually hurt every time I stabbed you.”

“Yeah, same here,” Junho nodded. “I felt it the last time as well, back when you and Khun were attacked, but it got overshadowed by the imprint, so I didn’t think there was a separate sensation…”

“Does it differ a lot from the way imprint makes you feel?” Wooyoung asked.

“Well,” Junho stood up straight, hands on his waist, thinking carefully. “Imprint feels different for everyone, and to me it’s like… I know it sounds weird, but it’s like a string orchestra. So, when Khun was injured, it felt like his “strings” were about to snap… Plus, I thought someone would wrench my heart out of my chest,” he shrugged. “But I guess that’s a given, while this pain is more like a…”

“Dull pang,” Wooyoung finished for him.

“Yeah,” Junho nodded. They met each other’s eye exchanging knowing smiles. “It’s not a bad thing that we can keep tabs on each other, you know.”

“I suppose,” Wooyoung patted Junho on his shoulder. Junho wanted to ask how Wooyoung was dealing with his urge to drain Yena, when Chansung called from the back:

“Alright we can go now!”

They turned off the lights in the warehouse and hurried out of the area right when the first employees began to arrive for the first early morning shift. Junho bid his goodbyes and left for his temporary home in the Western part of the city, while Chansung was going to walk Wooyoung home and then call Emma to check how it had gone with the hunters and the report to the Seoulite vampires.

However, just when they were about to take a ride home in Chansung’s car, there came a text from Khun saying he wanted to see Chansung in his office as soon as possible. The problem was that Wooyoung definitely needed some rest, and one could never tell how much time Chansung would end up spending at Khun’s office.

“Hyung,” Wooyoung said eventually unbuckling his seat belt. “I can get back home on my own, it’s no big deal.”

Chansung looked right to see the youngling looking at him with a stern expression on his face, and he knew Wooyoung really meant what he said, but it hasn’t been long since the attack, and now this call from Emma… Something was brewing, and Chansung wasn’t sure he could let a new-born go absolutely alone.

Yet, on the other hand, he didn’t want to thwart the kid, believing that giving freedom was essential to the development of a young vampire. Chansung felt conflicted. And he cursed Ok Taecyeon silently. After all, he was supposed to be taking care of Jang Wooyoung in the first place.

“Alright,” he said. “But promise me to be extremely careful and head straight home,” Chansung added calmly.

“Deal,” Wooyoung nodded, his fingers edging towards the door handle.

“And turn on the GPS on your phone,” if there was a time that they could make use of modern technologies this was it, Chansung figured.

“Will do,” Wooyoung nodded again and got out of the black Lexus. He disappeared from sight right after he gently closed the car door. Chansung sighed and started the car, still wondering whether he made the right choice allowing the kid to go home on his own.

 

***

 

They stood in front of a tall building in an early morning twilight. Yena looked around wondering how they were supposed to catch a cab in this back-end street, but then she noticed that Taec was looking up, his eyes measuring the ledge of the roof.

“Oh no,” Yena shook her head. “No, no, no, no~”

“Why not?” Taec whined, focusing on her. “It’s faster and so much fun, and there’s not much time left until the sunrise~” he said in a sing-song voice. “And you always sound like you know all about us, but you’ve never been out with any of us, you don’t know what it’s like.”

“I was out with Emma when I was 10,” Yena folded her arms across her chest in defence. “Thank you very much.”

Taecyeon gave a wistful sigh, looking up and clearly imagining or remembering something.

“Ah, that brings memories…”

Yena narrowed her eyes.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Taec perked up and shook his head.

“Nothing!” he said all too fast, turning his back to her and squatting down. “Hop on.”

Yena bit her lip. They surely didn’t have much time left, but dashing atop Edinburgh roofs with Ok Taecyeon…

“I might throw up on you,” she said eventually and Taec smirked to himself when he felt her arms wrap around his neck and she perched on top of him.

“Fair enough,” he stood up at once, making her squeak. He locked her knees under his elbows, jolting her upwards slightly. She gripped his neck tighter. Taec looked back and Yena widened her eyes because his face was way too close. She felt nauseous already. “All set?” he grinned.

Yena closed her eyes and glued herself to him although she'd never liked piggy-back rides. Still keeping that silly grin on his face, Ok Taecyeon looked up once again, crouched, and off up he went.

Yena felt wind in her ears when her hood slid off. Her stomach somersaulted twice when she tore one hand away from Taec’s neck to push the hood back on, and she thought she would fall off. However, right when she was about to throw up in fear, they landed on the roof.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve reached the cruising height,” Taec boomed in his low voice. “We expect a light turbulence, so we recommend keeping your seatbelt fastened throughout the flight.”

Yena pried one eye open.

There was an impressionist painting in front of them. She could not make out every single detail, but there were dark houses and roofs under the velvet sky that was quickly turning grey. Early morning noise and bustle was somewhere down below their feet, a light wind playing around them, making a few stray blonde strands dance around Yena’s forehead.

Taec crouched slightly and Yena knew they were about to dash forward. She figured it was a bad time to admit she was afraid of rollercoasters and anything remotely related to amusement parks. So, she just gripped his shoulders tight and prayed she wouldn’t throw up.

He was fast and light on his feet. She could barely feel when exactly his foot would reach the roof for another take off. Her stomach would turn into a butterfly farm each time he soared from one roof to another, but that breath-taking state of weightlessness would last only for a split of a second, and before you knew it, Taec would be running on top of another roof again.

She didn’t know when exactly she stopped squeaking out of fear and began squeaking with delight, but right when they were only ten blocks away from her house, Taecyeon stopped dead in his tracks, and she almost cracked her teeth into the back of his skull.

“Mrghgf?” she released a very eloquent sound, hoping Ok Taecyeon would understand it as “What happened?”, but before she knew it, she was off his back and set right behind a tall chimney. His arm held her around her waist, his face way too close for comfort, although his eyes were somewhere else. He was closely listening to the surroundings, his guard up and his senses suddenly working 100%. Yena was sure they had been supposed to go straight, but for some reason, Taecyeon took a sharp turn right and hid behind a chimney.

After a second, once he was sure that the danger wasn’t too close; he finally focused on her and breathed a single word:

“Hunters.”

Yena frowned.

“Why would anyone hunt you?” she said, at which Taec shook his head.

“Not me,” and he looked behind her. Yena turned around just in time to see a young vampire in joggers and a hoodie soar by a few rooftops away from them.

 

***

 

Junho stopped in front of the door and gave a long sigh.

He wasn’t sure how much longer he could pretend he didn’t know anything, but he was glad he took those theatre lessons back in high school because now they proved to be useful. He was also thinking that perhaps he should pack all of his equipment and move it all back to Yena’s house. As much as he trusted Sunye, he couldn’t help but feel slightly suspicious now that he knew where she’d come from.

He didn’t want to judge. He wasn’t going to. But for some reason he felt very protective of his clan.

Plunging his hand into his jacket’s pocket, Junho pulled out his key and was about to unlock the door when he heard a voice inside. She was obviously talking on the phone, and Junho wasn’t the type to pry, but he tuned into his vampire hearing anyway. There was something about her voice that he found odd. Junho frowned closing his eyes and angling his head. She was speaking… Thai?

Junho blinked, but before he could make anything of it, she switched to Korean.

“Yes, that’s what I told the contractor just now. There is a side effect,” she said. There was silence and Junho suddenly regretted he couldn’t hear the other person, too. His ears weren’t his best vampire asset. “But I am so close, and I want to find them,” she insisted her voice growing slightly agitated, and Junho found himself clenching the key as he heard her say that. “Yes, I understand…” she sounded defeated and resigned to whatever outcome this phone call would have. “Yes, I shall see to it. Yes, see you soon.”

Once the conversation was over, Junho unlocked the door and walked into the apartment. Sunye was standing in the middle of the living-room.

“Morning,” she greeted with a kind smile on her face. “Are those… dagger holes?” she asked half-seriously half-joking after giving him a once-over as her eyes halted at his crotch.

“Yeah,” he walked over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I think my left femoral artery got hit twice.”

“Well,” she laughed. “Practice on moving targets is the best.”

“I wish I could say the same about being the target,” he smiled back, taking off his jacket. “I’ll just take a shower and be right back,” he walked past her.

“Shall I join you?” she asked leaning against the sofa backrest, her arms crossed on her chest. Junho laughed.

“I think I…” he hushed and stopped in the middle of his gait, feeling something was off. He turned his head right, as if trying to understand which group of his senses was sending him these signals.

“Junho?” Sunye frowned and stood up straight. “Is something wrong?”

“I’m not…” he shook his head to say he wasn’t exactly sure, but the next second he gripped his left shoulder when a dull pang rippled down his arm. “Not good,” he breathed and slowly sank down to his knees, when another dull pang pierced his ankles and then his back.

“Junho!” Sunye ran to him, kneeling in front of him and snatching him at his shoulders. “Is this your hyung?”

“No,” Junho shook his head again, his mind still clear and unaffected, although his body was in a peculiar state of numb. He fished for his phone inside his jacket. “No… my twin,” he said when he finally grabbed a hold of his phone and dialled the first number in his address book.

“Yes,” Chansung answered after one bleep.

“Hyung,” Junho uttered urgently, Sunye’s arms around his shoulders helping him keep the balance. “It’s Wooyoung,” he rasped out. “I don’t know what’s going on, but he’s in trouble.”

“I knew I should’ve driven him home,” Chansung grumbled, obviously blaming himself. “Stay where you are,” his voice turned serious and business-like within a second. “Sun rises soon and there’s not a single cloud in the sky. I will find him, and if I won’t make it, Khun will alert his humans. You did well by letting me know,” Chansung said softly. “And don’t worry, they won’t kill him, they need him alive.”

“Yes, I understand,” Junho nodded out of pure habit.

“And Junho…” Chansung hesitated slightly before voicing out his thoughts. “Come back home, we need you.”

“I will,” Junho hung up the phone, feeling exhausted. He looked up at Sunye. “I need to go back,” he said softly.

She nodded, a determined expression on her face.

“Let’s get you to bed first,” she pulled him up to his feet and dragged him to the bathroom with the intention to push this piece of tired meat into a bath tub. “We will talk later,” she said.

 

***

 

“But that’s Wooyoung!” Yena’s eyes widened. Taecyeon nodded gravely. Yena turned back at him. “You have to do something!” she whispered feverishly. “If they’ve been hired to catch him, they know he’s resistant to quicksilver! They’ll have silver swords, ropes, and rods! He won’t make it!”

Taecyeon peeped behind the chimney.

“This is bad,” he mused. “I don’t even have my sword,” then he felt a small poke in his shoulder that was actually Yena punching him.

“You moron! You don’t need weapons, you have your strength and the element of surprise,” her eyes were so big and so alive, Taecyeon suddenly felt a pang of jealousy towards Wooyoung. But then again, she probably just didn’t want to lose her favourite test subject.

“There are plenty of pebbles of the roofs! Hit them where it hurts!” she hissed.

“What about you?”

“Just put me down, and I’ll catch a cab,” suddenly her head was very clear and it worked like a clock. “We’re like ten blocks away, I’ll be home in a jiffy and prepare everything you might need once you’re back.”

“But…”

“Hurry up,” she punched him again. “You have like ten minutes before the sun rises!”

Taec looked up at the east to see the first pale sun rays pop up on the horizon, and a shiver ran down his back.

He had not a second to waste. He nodded at Yena, grabbed her at her waist, and jumped down the building, putting her down safely in an empty alley. Then he jumped back up again and hid behind the chimney, crouching down and shovelling twelve white pebbles from the rooftop into his palm. At least that was the number of hunters he had counted previously.

He stealthily dashed two rooftops left, climbing atop of a small roof of a penthouse apartment that overlooked lower roofs around it. Now the entire scene was right in front of him.

He almost growled when he saw Wooyoung get hit with a quicksilver shot in his left shoulder, but the kid could not be put down with that. He was more surprised than hurt, and that nano-second of surprise cost him two silver hooks in his calves – he fell down to his knees growling in pain.

Wooyoung had no time to think how or why this happened. Pain, weariness, and the rising sun occupied the biggest part of his head. Then there was another quicksilver shot from behind, right under his ribs, and he coughed up dark blood.

His right arm was still intact, and he caught a hunter the closest to him and broke his hand without any second thought. But then he felt cold metal pressed to his left temple, and heard another hunter say:

“A silver bullet through his brain will calm him down for a while.”

Fear seized his entire body, and he thought he would throw up. Wooyoung wasn’t scared of dying. He knew he wouldn’t die. But he just absolutely… totally abhorred the pain. He closed his eyes when the hunter pulled the trigger, but the shot never came. Instead, the hunter fell down dropping the gun.

Wooyoung opened his eyes and looked around surprised.

Three of the hunters were down. They didn’t seem to have been wounded or anything, but they didn’t move. The remaining hunters were looking around frantically, scared and frustrated that their lucrative mission had been interrupted. Then Wooyoung noticed two white pebbles shooting their direction and two more men fell.

He wanted to get up and help, but his hands were now tied up with silver threads, and he felt like crap, so he only kneeled there on the roof, watching the hunters dropping down like flies until all of them were left unconscious with a single pebble blow in their heads. Their helmets were no good against such strength.

When Ok Taecyeon landed in front of him, Wooyoung breathed a sigh of relief. Taecyeon grinned.

“You’re battered up pretty bad,” he observed.

“No shit, hyung,” Wooyoung coughed. “Thank you, and sorry.”

“Ah, it could happen to anyone of us,” Taecyeon shrugged off and untied Wooyoung wrists, hissing slightly as silver touched his skin. “Khun also got ambushed, remember?” he asked pulling the silver hooks out of Wooyoung’s calves. The kid growled in pain when parts of flesh were torn away with the hooks, but there was no other way to get rid of that.

“Argh! Yes,” Wooyoung panted. He didn’t know why. He knew he didn’t need oxygen to survive, but it felt like his brain was in a great need of it, and he was trying to make his half-dead lungs work. Which, as a result, only made his overall state worse.

“Let’s see,” Taec squatted in front of him, taking Wooyoung’s face into his hands and checking for other serious injuries. “I’d say you don’t look too bad, considering you’ve got two shots of quicksilver,” he mused. “Yena will have so much fun with you,” he snickered. “But boy, don’t you need a blood transfusion or wha…” Taec didn’t finish his sentence when Wooyoung’s right hand caught a hold of his nape and pulled him closer, Taec’s nose getting buried into Wooyoung’s hoodie. After a split of a second he heard a shot.

He blinked surprised, feeling the weight of Wooyoung’s hand on his back disappear, and he pulled away. Wooyoung’s eyes were right next to his. The kid gestured his left arm, and Taec looked right to see him clench a hunter’s weapon in his hand. A thirteenth hunter was lying a few metres away writhing with a silver bullet wound in his thigh. Taec looked back at Wooyoung.

“Splendid,” he grinned and pushed his hands under Wooyoung’s armpits, pulling him up. “Come on, kid, let’s get you home before the sun rises.”

 

***

 

He put the final box into the van and let the driver close the door. Checking the delivery address once more, he nodded and told the movers that he would be at the destination waiting for them.

Junho watched the van leave and then he looked back at the house, hands in his dark blue baseball jacket pockets.

The movers arrived right after sunset, at around 6 pm, just as he had asked previously, when he made the call at around 9 am in the morning. He’d spent the rest of the day packing up his computers and other make-shift lab equipment into shock-proof boxes and bags.

Sunye was surprisingly understanding about his moving out. But that was probably because she had to leave the country for a while herself. At least that was what she had told him right after he got into the bed after a warm bath.

For some reason, he wasn’t too surprised about the turn of the events. After all, both of them were relatively young vampires who could not wander around or stay too far away from their makers (or clans in his case). He got it quite well in his head, and he just felt detached and numb. But perhaps it made it easier.

A small voice at the back of his head told him that he was not doing his clan a favour by letting her go, but Junho figured that just once he could offer her the privilege of doubt. Just this once. He did not want to do the usual and blame the children for whatever their parents have done. That was not in his policy books.

He climbed up the stairs and opened the door to her apartment to say his goodbyes. Once he entered, she offered him a kind smile.

“We should’ve met when we were older,” she said when he walked closer and she put her hands onto his chest.

“Why won’t we?” he shrugged and smirked, gripping a hold of her shoulders and giving her a soft kiss on the lips.

“I hope your twin gets better soon,” she said sincerely. He hugged her tight, her tiny frame so fragile against his strong arms.

“I really hope you will find the truth about your sister,” he mumbled into her neck, hoping his wish was something for the best for both of them.

When he pulled back, there was a crimson rim around her eyes, but he didn’t stop because he had to do what he was supposed to do. He just wished that the next time he saw her (and he promised himself he would), the circumstances were a lot better.

Closing the door behind him, Junho shuffled down the stairs, feeling rather weird. He wasn’t exactly sad or heart-broken. His head was clear and he certainly knew his priorities. If anything, he could tell that his emotions were now stronger and crystallized, compared to the mess he’d been when he was human. But then, he still felt slightly hollow, even if he knew there were things that came first. His clan came first. And a few-months old vampire didn’t need a manual to understand that.

He looked up when he felt a slight tremor, thinking the old staircase was trembling under his footsteps, but then someone brushed against his shoulder as the person climbed up, and Junho looked up with an automatic:

“Excuse me.”

“No problem,” a short handsome man with a perfect skin and diamond studs in his ears answered him in American accent, offering him a lop-sided smirk, and then continued walking up the stairs.

Junho stared until the man dressed in a red baseball cap and a red baseball jacket disappeared behind a staircase. He then clenched his fists inside his pockets and forced himself to walk down at a normal pace, finally realizing what the tremor was.

It felt suffocating and he didn’t like that. The tremor told him so much; Junho felt helpless and powerless because there were just too many centuries between them.

Junho wanted to run away and never look back, but he still walked calmly, until he emerged into the street and turned left, still pacing down the pavement as if nothing had happened. He knew that face, but he could not give away that he was afraid of Jay Park.

 

***

 

He turned on his phone only when he picked his bag from the airport conveyor belt. Jaejoong knew he was being ridiculous, but he had his own superstitions, and he would always find himself worrying about his luggage being lost because of some indescribable accident. So inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief when his bag arrived; he gripped the handle and went on towards the arrivals gate.

It was an early February evening in the Frankfurt am Main Airport, and his clients were waiting for him. Someone squeaked, and he realized that a few teens must have mistaken him for some random boy band member again.

Jaejoong simply walked on until he shook hands with his clients and allowed them to lead the way to their car. The airport was huge and they had an entire terminal to cover, so Jaejoong made a small talk with his clients, especially as a young German female vampire seemed to be extremely chatty. He guessed she was younger than him and was turned no more than two or three years ago.

However, his attention shifted from a light-hearted chat to his perpetually vibrating pocket, and he realized that his phone had finally connected to a German service provider and it was roaming like mad. He was bound to have missed something during the two-hour flight and now he was obviously being flooded with text messages and emails.

He excused himself while his companion was in the middle of a sentence, pulled out his phone, unlocked the screen, and opened the text messages menu. He stared at it, and then took off his shades, revealing dark circles underneath his otherwise perfect eyes. Jaejoong was still walking fast with his clients, but he stared frowning at his phone, his mouth slightly open.

“Goddammit!” he cursed under his breath in Korean, but the vampire next to him was tactful enough to ignore it.

Biting on his lip, Jaejoong quickly forwarded the message and clicked SEND. He then typed another message in a speed of light and sent it out as well, because calling would’ve been a waste of time. Locking down the screen and hiding his phone in his pocket, Jaejoong once again focused on the young vampire in front of him with a soft smile on his face, making her feel like she was the sole recipient of his undivided attention. Inwardly, he hoped the text message recipient would check his phone as soon as possible.

 

***

 

“Anything else you’ve noticed?” he asked looking out of the window. He stood in his room, Chansung sitting on his bed. With the sun down, everything drowned in a cold twilight.

“Just that some accounts and reports don’t match with the official press-releases,” Bobby said quickly. She sounded slightly nervous, but it wasn’t fear. He could tell fear apart from any other emotion immediately. He narrowed his eyes.

“It’s the same ones you’ve mentioned some time ago, right?” Nichkhun asked.

“Right,” her voice was high and upbeat. “I thought it was a typo in a newspaper, but then I noticed that most of the press-releases and the company reports that I had to give you to sign were off. I didn’t know how serious it was, I just thought it was odd…”

“No, it’s a good thing you’ve told me,” he turned around and leaned against the windowsill, his eyes meeting Chansung’s. “And you did a great job, pushing Taec to inform me about it, too. Thank you.”

“Really?” she suddenly sounded happy and accomplished. “Well, I just thought you should know of these inconsistencies… Should I…” she stuttered. “Can I still come over to the company on Monday?”

“You cannot,” Khun deadpanned and Chansung raised one eyebrow as they still kept their eye contact.

“Oh…”

“You must,” Khun smirked. “You’re an employee.”

“Oh, for the love of!” Bobby exploded on the other end, and Chansung smiled seeing that Khun was obviously enjoying himself, very happy with the way he was teasing the girl. “See you on Monday then, unless Yena needs me, and Khun…” she halted before continuing.

“Yes?”

“It… It was nice to see you again,” she said. “I’m glad you’re ok.”

“I appreciate that,” Khun answered softly. “Have a nice evening, Sudavadi,” he wished, his eyes still on Chansung’s.

“Bye,” and she hung up. Khun pulled the phone away from his ear and released a barely audible sigh. Chansung smiled.

“Sounds like you’ve got yourself another one,” he said.

“When was I in lack of them, really?” Khun looked away, leaving his phone on the windowsill.

“True,” Chansung nodded. “For every one of mine, you had five.”

“Ey!” Khun dashed forward with the intention to kick Chansung in the shin, but he froze the moment he saw Chansung smiling at him. He was obviously enjoying himself. And well, for what it’s worth, Chansung wasn’t making things up.

Nichkhun shoved his hands into his trousers pockets and looked down at Chansung. The latter stopped smiling.

“What’s going on with the company?” he asked.

“I think we’re reaching the point of the enterprise development where simple money laundering across the board isn’t enough anymore, and then they try to put the blame on me for embezzling the company funds.”

“Again?” Chansung raised his eyebrows sceptically. Khun shrugged.

“Humans are predictable, what can I say.”

“But you’ve founded the company,” Chansung frowned.

Over centuries, Nichkhun has ventured into various businesses and he managed to succeed most of the time due to is cautious nature. But time and again, they would encounter the force majeure that would mess up their cards. Human greed had no limits.

“Ok Taecyeon founded the company through an agent,” Khun said. “I’m just a "descendent" of the founder.”

“Right,” Chansung smiled. “And so, they think you’re the son of a rich family, who got placed in the high executive position because of your connections.”

Khun shrugged.

“Pretty much.”

“What are you gonna do?”

“I’m gonna wait until May or June, and then transfer the executive rights to someone else before they conspire to… depose me during the next shareholder meeting,” he sighed. “There’s no rush. It’s not like I haven’t dealt with this before, and I’m not scared of losing this company. I just don’t want to waste the assets. It would be a big loss to Yena.”

Chansung reached out and patted Khun on his forearm, giving him a very warm and understanding smile.

“You big old softie,” he said. “Underneath all that stone-face décor, you care like no one else, don’t you?”

Khun caught the hand on his forearm and slowly rubbed his thumb against Chansung’s palm, looking calm and pensive.

“How stupid of you to ask when you know it all,” he uttered.

“I suppose,” Chansung’s thumb slid out of Khun’s grip and moved upwards, slowly drawing circles around a protruding bone on Khun’s wrist. “What do we do now?” he asked. “Anything you want that I can help you with?”

Khun’s eyelashes fluttered as he shifted his gaze from his wrist to Chansung. He looked right back at him, nothing but genuine kindness and sincerity in those big bovine eyes. Anything I want? Khun thought.

He wanted to… He wanted to straddle him, take his face into his hands and kiss him senseless. He wanted to press himself against him, and feel his light exploring breath on his skin. He wanted to fold the moment and live in it forever, but it was just a fleeting fraction of a second, frail enough to be shattered by a slam of a door in the corridor.

“Taec, where’re you going?!”

They heard Yena call. Chansung slowly got up from the bed and they nodded to each other, indicating that they had to check the situation outside.

As they walked out of the room, Khun hurried straight down the stairs after Taecyeon, and Chansung walked over to the furthest room in the corridor, where Yena stood in the doorway.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Yena shook her head and motioned towards the direction opposite from her. “He got a call and just… ran off,” she huffed a stray blonde strand off her eyes annoyed. “And he was supposed to help me with the transfusion...” she grumbled looking back into Wooyoung’s room.

The youngling was lying in his bed on his stomach. The lacerated wounds on his calves were very reluctant to heal even though it’s been more than 12 hours since the attack. He was slowly sipping blood from a bag looking rather bored, but anyone could tell that blank face expression was hiding one very disappointed and tired new-born. He was in pain, and he hated that. But more than anything, he hated making other people worry about him.

“You’re going for the transfusion?” Chansung asked slightly surprised. Yena sighed ramming her hands into her waist and casting a glance over her shoulder at Wooyoung.

“It’ll be faster,” she looked back at Chansung. “His resistance to quicksilver is a double-edged sword. It doesn’t disable him, but it stays in his blood longer, and it interferes with the speedy recovery. He had like three or four quicksilver shots, when one is enough to knock out someone like you or Khun,” she shook her head. “Plus, silver hooks and chains, and the training before that… It took a toll on his body.”

Chansung looked behind Yena again, suddenly feeling very guilty about it. Right before the attack, he had put Wooyoung through gruesome training, making him take the silver dagger to heart at least four or five times. He had thought that the kid would regain his strength after a good rest, but instead of sleep he got… this.

“I’ll help you,” he said focusing on Yena. “How many blood bags do you need?”

Yena sighed again, biting her lip and crossing her arms, thinking of the optimal solution.

“Five,” she said eventually. “Our B positive stock is basically as good as gone anyway, so what the hell,” she shrugged. “We need to change at least 20% of his blood to increase the chance of fast recovery.”

“I’ll be right back,” Chansung gently touched her shoulder and walked down the corridor to fetch her five bags of B positive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	21. #21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 🔷 OT6!! 🥺  
> 🔷 WooJun ❤️  
> 🔷 Ryan Reynolds is hot.  
> 🔷 Final flashback. EVER.

_…picking up right where we left off…_

 

 

Khun caught Taecyeon at his shoulder right when he was about to open the door.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Where are you going?”

Taec turned around with a huge grin on his face.

“Nothing’s wrong,” he beamed. “I think finally the things are taking a turn for the better.”

“Do you need any help?” Khun frowned slightly, although he relaxed seeing that Taecyeon was in good spirits.

Taec grasped Khun’s hand on his shoulder and gave it a light squeeze, gently pushing it away.

“Thank you,” his eyes shone with zeal and excitement. “But I think I can make it on my own.”

“Call, if anything,” Khun nodded and took one step away from him.

“See you later,” Taecyeon grinned and opened the door only to crash into Junho, who was about to push the door open with his shoulder. Thankfully, the taller vampire managed to slow down on time and his hands only propped against the big carton box Junho was carrying.

“Hyung!” he exclaimed surprised, his eyes and the tip of his nose visible above the box.

“Hey! Welcome back, kid,” Taec grinned and walked around the obstacle that was Junho. “And see ya later!” he tapped Junho on the back with his hand, basically pushing him inside so hard that the youngling almost tripped over as he staggered into the hall.

With that, Ok Taecyeon was gone, and Junho was left standing with the box in his hands right in front of Nichkhun. They stared at each other in silence, and Junho didn’t know what to say.

He put the box down and stood straight again, now noticing every single detail about Khun – his bare feet and loose grey trousers, his white shirt that wasn’t tucked in. There were two buttons undone at the top and at the bottom, and his sleeves were rolled up. His platinum blonde hair was slightly dishevelled, and Junho could already see the dark roots. The amount of blood he consumed while recovering must’ve spiked up the hair growth as well.

Khun shoved his hands into his pockets, and Junho noticed the rough skin on the inner side of his left forearm. The evidence of the attack wasn’t completely gone, even though it’s been weeks.

It wasn’t on purpose. One fleeting glance at that arm was all it took – Junho suddenly felt everything coming back to him. Everything he felt the night when Khun and Wooyoung were attacked crashed onto him like a high ocean wave, hazing over his brain, and, before he knew it, Junho took a few decisive steps towards Khun and hugged him.

Khun was taken by surprise. There was a huge hand on his back and a tuft of wavy hair at his nose. He raised his left hand and awkwardly patted Junho on his shoulder.

“Really glad you’re OK, hyung,” Junho mumbled. “Sorry I’ve been a pain in the ass.”

Khun was still not exactly sure what he was supposed to make of this. Junho’s scent got into his nostrils, and he blinked realizing how similar it was to Chansung’s. It’s just that where Chansung felt mild and solid, Junho was sturdier and firm. Khun smiled. Well, after all, this boy WAS his little brother.

“Pain in the ass is not exactly the term,” he said pulling back and looking Junho in the eye. “Welcome back.”

“Am I still grounded?” Junho bit his lower lip. Khun grinned.

“Yes, you’re sentenced for an eternity in our clan.”

“I think,” Junho rubbed his eye, giving Khun a sheepish smirk. “I can live with that.”

“Thank you for coming back, Junho,” they heard another voice and Junho looked up to see Chansung walk down the stairs.

“How’s Wooyoung?”

“Healing slowly,” Chansung looked down. He still felt guilty about what happened.

“It would be a lot easier to heal if he had an imprint,” Khun grumbled.

“I don’t think that’s coming anytime soon,” Junho scratched his head.

“What’s that?” Khun finally pointed at the box.

“Oh right,” Junho clapped. “My stuff, there are still a few of them in the van,” he pointed behind his back.

“I’ll help you with that, come on,” putting his hand on Junho’s back, Khun manoeuvred him towards the door. “You can see Wooyoung later.”

They soon disappeared behind the door, but Chansung could still hear fragments of their conversation.

“What IS in these boxes anyway?”

“Just my computers and lab equipment…”

“Your what? How did you pay for those?”

“Umm… your emergency card?”

“… right.”

Chansung smiled nodding slowly to himself and walked over to the cellar, as their blood stock had been relocated from the kitchen to Yena’s newly installed lab.

 

***

 

The journey up the stairs took less than a minute, but he still managed to go through a myriad of options and scenarios. He also found himself regretting approximately three hundred and fifty nine times that he didn’t bring any kind of weapon, but then for four hundred and twenty six times he assured himself over and over that his strength was his greatest asset, and as long as that female was no more than five hundred years old, he should still have an advantage. After all, he was not going to fight. He simply wanted to ask a few questions (and fight, if need be).

So, when he reached the apartment door in an old Victorian house, Ok Taecyeon stood straight, trimmed his coat’s collar, and raised his hand to knock, only to see that the door was already slightly open. In a matter of a nano-second, his brain switched gears and the serious mode was on.

Reaching out, Taecyeon pushed the door further, and it opened without a single sound. He listened. Aside from human breaths and human hearts beating loud and clear in the neighbouring apartments, this one was absolutely silent, but it didn’t mean it was empty.

Tensing up like a predator about to pounce at its prey, Taecyeon slowly crept inside, clenching his teeth, ready for the entire world to fall upon him.

“Your jaw still gives you away, stop clenching it that hard.”

Taec flopped down on all fours, reprimanded by a voice he knew all too well.

Embarrassed, he crawled down the corridor and finally got up from the floor when he reached the living-room. The old vampire stood in the middle of the room; his broad back turned at Taec.

“Hyung,” he rasped.

Minjun turned around with a hint of smile on his face.

“Was I really that loud?” Taecyeon pouted. Minjun shrugged.

“I heard you.”

“Hyung,” Taecyeon looked around the room suspiciously, as if still expecting ghosts and demons to spring out any second. “What are you doing here?”

“Same question to you, Ok Taecyeon,” Minjun walked closer. “What are you doing here?” there was something in his charcoal eyes that made shiver run down Taec’s spine.

Kim Minjun originally had a bright and sunny disposition, but this time, the cloud has certainly come over and he was dead serious.

“I traced down the person who infected that vampire in the north,” Taecyeon said. “I got a call saying this is where she stays.”

“She…” Minjun repeated thoughtfully, looking around the room and narrowing his eyes. He eventually closed them and took a very deep breath.

“Yes, it’s a she,” Taecyeon nodded, he was slightly confused about the entire situation. “Asian. We eliminated the possibility of a human being involved in this from the very beginning so, I went for those vampires who’ve recently entered the country…”

“I should’ve expected something unorthodox from him,” Minjun muttered, stopping Taecyeon in the middle of his explanation. Taec blinked twice and raised his eyebrows, hunching slightly forwards and checking for anything on Minjun’s face that would allow him to read the elder’s mind.

“Hyung?”

“I should’ve called Chansung over, but I didn’t want you all involved,” he shook his head. “At least not until Wooyoung gets his imprint,” he looked at Taec. “There are more scents, but I can get only two. The female must be his progeny.”

Taecyeon just KNEW he was missing something.

“Hyung… what are you on about?” he asked carefully. Minjun finally looked up at him.

“Jaebeom was here.”

A ton of bricks dropped on Taecyeon. His mouth fell open. He was trying to articulate something, but he forgot he was supposed to breathe in, and so, no sound came out.

“I got a text from Jaejoong with this address,” Minjun explained. “But I was about half an hour too late,” he sounded very disappointed.

Taecyeon wanted to face-palm hundreds of times. He really hadn’t thought ahead – it would’ve been great to bring Chansung along. He would’ve picked the scent at once. And now they were left with nothing but an empty apartment.

“No,” Taecyeon clenched his fists. “There’s got to be some clue,” he dashed by Minjun towards the bedroom.

Women often left clues in their bedrooms. And if she was Jaebeom’s progeny, that means he was also involved. The only progeny alive, Min Sunye, was no more than 50 years old, and she couldn’t act without her maker’s approval, so Jaebeom had to know about all this…

Taecyeon opened all drawers, rummaged through the wardrobe, pulled down the bed sheets, lifted up the mattress. Nothing. It was absolutely empty. And clean. Not the kind of omg-must-run-away-leave-no-evidence clean, but more of a genuine clean that is left when a tenant moves out.

“Taecyeon,” Minjun called from the doorway, impressed by his zest, but considering it rather futile.

“No, no, no,” Ok Taecyeon thrashed around the room like a caged animal that was not about to give up without a fight. He raised his forefinger, waggling it around. “That’s not it, hyung. There’s gotta be something…” he halted in his tracks; eyes suddenly wide with revelation. “Bathroom!” he snapped his fingers. “Why of course!”

He ran past Minjun again, heading to the bathroom, fire burning in his eyes. Minjun sighed, but he gave him the privilege of doubt and didn’t roll his eyes. After all, Ok Taecyeon was their clan’s idea bank. Casting the final glance at the empty room and the messy bed with an overthrown mattress, Minjun walked away towards the bathroom.

He was half-way there when he heard Taecyeon exclaim:  _Eureka!!_ , and the next thing he knew, the tall vampire ran out of the bathroom holding a pair of dirty joggers.

“Look, what I found in the washing machine!”

Minjun raised one eyebrow quizzically, obviously questioning Ok Taecyeon’s sanity.

“Seriously? Trousers?”

“BLOODY joggers!” Taec flailed the garment into Minjun’s face. “For one, it’s not hers because it’s male trousers. Second, it’s not Park Jaebeom’s size. Third, we can analyse the blood on them and perhaps find ourselves a witness!”

“I don’t know, Taec,” Minjun sounded doubtful. “For all we know she could’ve had dozens of men here…”

“Yeah, but this is all we’ve got!” Taecyeon hit the trousers with his palm agitated, making bits of dried blood fly into all directions, including at his coat. “Darn it,” he cursed, brushing it away and breathing through his nose to make his next statement, but then something clicked in his brain.

He froze.

“Taecyeon?” Minjun noticed the sudden change in him.

Ok Taecyeon looked at the trousers closely, now seeing them in a completely different light. He then took a sniff of the dried blood again, and another ton of bricks fell on him for the second time in less than five minutes. He knew those trousers. And he knew that blood. Taecyeon looked up at Minjun, wearing a serious expression on his bronze face.

“Junho,” he said.

 

***

 

Minjun briefed Taecyeon on everything that concerned the on-going search for Park Jaebeom (or Jay Park) on their way home. It was for the best to inform him about it beforehand, because Ok Taecyeon knew how to separate feelings and logic, and Minjun wanted to rely on that logic when they would face the rest of the guys in a serious and, preferably, not long-winded conversation.

So, when Taec opened the door to the house and let Minjun in, they had already decided to refrain from jumping into hasty conclusions, especially, as far as Junho was concerned. Family betrayal and sleeping with the enemy, and then the subsequent disowning was a subject for dramas and definitely not something the vampire clans and covens took lightly. For what it’s worth, first and foremost, they had to listen to what the kid had to say.

Taec hung his coat on the rack and kicked off his shoes, jumping into his slippers and following Minjun into the main living-room. He felt slightly hungry, but he figured he could hold it in for a while.

“Do we talk all together, or do we have a talk with Junho alone?” he asked while Minjun typed an email message on his phone.

“We shall leave it for the kid to decide,” the elder said.

Taecyeon nodded and looked to see Yena descending down the stairs with a few bags or dirty-looking blood in her hands. She must’ve gone all the way and performed the transfusion.

“Spoil of the day?” he asked wriggling is eyebrows.

“Ah, you’re back,” she halted for a second as she saw him standing down there, and then continued placing her feet on the steps carefully, because her cat was walking right next to her. “Yes, I’m a rich woman now, har har,” she snorted. “Wooyoung’s a lot better now; the wounds on his shins have almost closed,” Yena said. “And I’m gonna go and lock myself up in the lab with these,” she raised her right hand to show them all the quicksilver-tainted blood she’d got from the youngling.

“Just don’t stay up all night,” Minjun looked up from his phone, slipping the gadget into his pocket and walking up the stairs. “Or else I’ll send Ok Taecyeon over,” he wiggled his eyebrows as he walked past her.

Taecyeon followed after the elder, being absolutely over the moon.

“Ufufufufu,” he halted next to her and leaned in to whisper into her ear. “You heard him.”

Yena gathered all the bits and pieces of her will power to stop her long nails from digging into the blood bags. Popping them would’ve helped no one. Eventually, she didn’t even spare him a glance, as she walked down the stairs into her lab with her cat, and shut the door behind her.

“One day, she’s going to stab you with her syringe, and it’ll have a really dangerous concoction inside,” Minjun sniggered as they finally walked down the first-floor corridor.

“You know I’m always up for experiments,” Taec grinned, but his smile vanished when they entered Wooyoung’s room, and he saw that the wounds on his shins were still there, although the boy looked considerably better.

He was now sitting on his bed, his back propped against his pillow, and loose joggers rolled up to his knees. He was laughing at something Junho was telling him about his computers, sitting right next to him, while Chansung and Khun were huddled around Khun’s tablet at the other corner of Wooyoung’s bed. Well, the kid had a big bed, what could you do.

“Now isn’t that a sight to see,” Minjun smirked, walking inside and drawing everyone’s attention.

“Hyung!”

“You’re back!”

“How are you, kiddo?”

“Getting better, thank you!”

“Hey, Taec, what was that all about?”

“Yeah, where were you?”

At that, Taecyeon gripped the knob and closed the door that has been kept open since the early morning. Minjun walked on and sat into a comfy office chair at Wooyoung’s desk, eyeing each and every one of them. Chansung and Nichkhun put the tablet away immediately, sensing something was coming.

“About that…” Taecyeon walked over to Minjun and perched on the edge of Wooyoung’s desk. “There’s something we need to discuss.”

“Junho,” Minjun uttered looking the kid straight in the eye. “Do you wish to tell us something in private, or are you ok with talking in front of everyone?”

Junho put the glass he’d been holding for Wooyoung away onto the night stand and withstood Minjun’s glance saying:

“I have nothing to hide,” and he really meant it.

“Alright,” Minjun nodded and eyed every single one of them. “Before we go on… My brother’s been spotted in Scotland,” he noticed that Wooyoung tensed immediately at what he said. “And we’ve missed him just by half an hour.”

“I found the person responsible for the virus infection in Dornoch,” Taecyeon continued the briefing. “And she happened to be staying at the same apartment where Jay Park appeared.”

“We can easily tell that she is Jaebeom’s progeny,” by now they had everyone’s attention. “And it wouldn’t be that important if it wasn’t for the fact that my brother is involved in the development of a tracking device that would allow tracking any vampire, anywhere.”

“But that’s a breach of privacy,” Chansung frowned.

“Exactly,” Taecyeon nodded and focused on Junho. “Min Sunye. Anything you’ve got to say on this?”

Junho expected everyone to turn their heads and stare at him, but even Wooyoung, who was sitting right next to him, kept his eyes glued on Minjun and Taecyeon. Junho realized this wasn’t an interrogation, and they weren’t blaming him. They just wanted to know. And he had to tell them everything because he knew that unwittingly, he had become a part of something big, something beyond everyone’s control.

“I found out only yesterday, when Taecyeon showed me the family tree,” he said. “There was something about her from the very beginning, but I couldn’t tell, and I would’ve never thought we’re related.”

“Master Hudun’s imprint is strong, but when it’s a third generation, it IS hard to tell,” Nichkhun mused. “And she’s what… Fifty? Sixty?” he glanced at Taec and the latter nodded. “She wouldn’t have been able to tell apart as well. Too young.”

“I think…” Junho began and continued only when Minjun nodded giving him permission to speak his mind. He felt slightly nervous. “Now that I think of it, I think she was following me when we first met, but… She thinks that her sister,” he glanced at Wooyoung. “Our maker, was killed for fun by high-ranking vampires, and I suppose she could be on her own personal vendetta,” Minjun narrowed his eyes at that. “She’s a good tracker,” Junho added.

“Jaebeom allowing his kids this young to wander around has always been disturbing,” Minjun massaged his right temple, drawing small circles with his fingertips.

“But that means her infecting that dude in the north and her hooking up with Junho are two completely unrelated things,” Taecyeon reasoned.

“I don’t know whether it’s about the virus or not,” Junho carried on. “But I heard her talk on the phone, saying it had a side effect. It sounded like she was being ordered to do something else, and afterwards, she told me she had to leave. So, we packed our stuff and left after sunset,” he bit his lip before continuing. “And I met him on my way out.”

“Who?”

“Jay Park?”

“Jaebeom?”

Junho nodded. “He didn’t look like it… but he felt… scary,” he turned to look at Wooyoung to explain himself. “He’s SO old,” he said almost cringing at the feeling.

“What did he look like?” Chansung asked. Junho shrugged, digging into a recent memory.

“Shorter than me, baseball cap, baseball jacket, pierced ears, loose trousers, trainers… He looked like a b-boy, I don’t know. And he spoke American English; he must’ve understood what I was…”

“Not unless he bothered to sniff around,” Nichkhun shook his head. “And vampires that old usually don’t.”

“They will probably leave the country and continue working on the virus, especially if it has a side effect…” Taecyeon concluded. “Oh, and the device…” he frowned looking down at Minjun. “What’s with the virus anyway, it sort of falls out of the entire context.”

“He must have quite a few projects to work on,” Minjun shrugged it off. “We’re just lucky it was Junho and not Wooyoung who ended up bumping into Jaebeom.”

“Me?” Wooyoung blinked surprised.

“Yeah, otherwise custody battle would’ve ensued,” Taecyeon grinned.

“You think we’d give you away that easy?” Minjun smiled looking at the youngest.

Wooyoung was taken aback. He didn’t know what to say. Pain in his shins forgotten, he suddenly felt heat well up in his eyes, and he fought the rosy glow away. In his books, crying was not an option no matter how touched you felt. He felt Junho’s hand on his, and his twin gave him a light squeeze, meaning everything was alright. Wooyoung cleared his throat.

“So, what do we do now?” he asked.

“Well,” Taecyeon folded his arms across his chest. “We’ve solved the virus "mystery" even if we don’t have the culprit, but that’s not our problem right now. We’re just gonna report them to the authorities. And I bet they’re gonna be out of the country before you can say sunlight,” he snapped his fingers.

“And there is no evidence as of yet that Jaebeom’s tracking device works, so there’s no immediate need to pursue him. It’s not even our jurisdiction, we’re not in Korea,” Minjun shrugged. “As long as we can protect Wooyoung, we’re good. We can wait.”

“Speaking of which,” Junho spoke up. “Any ideas who’s behind today’s attack?”

“Same old,” Nichkhun grumbled.

“Hector. Or Khotan,” Chansung said with so much spite in his voice, the two younglings thought it was possible to get severe burns from just listening to him speak. “Or both. Emma got attacked last night as well. Hunters said their client was a “ _collector_.”

“Well, I have no doubt that Emma can take care of herself,” Minjun mused. “That was inconsiderate of them to attack a vampire that old.”

Junho turned to look at Wooyoung again, mouthing “ _who’s Emma?_ ” with a slight twitch of his eyebrows. Wooyoung, however, mouthed back “ _no idea,_ ” with sagged corners of his mouth and a twitchy lower lip.

“The question is, what do we do with you,” Minjun fixed his dark eyes on Wooyoung and the youngling sat up as straight as he could in his bed. “It would be for the best if you stayed out of the moonlight for a while. Do they know that he’s part of our clan now?” he looked right at the rest of the group. Chansung shrugged. Khun pouted. Taecyeon looked up, thinking hard.

“Meh, even if they do, they can’t barge into this house,” he said. “Cuz we have the royal protection, and if they did, then _hell-gate-open_ , so to speak.”

“But he’s a new-born,” Chansung objected. “He can’t stay indoors all the time; he needs to feed.”

“Even if he doesn’t do it properly,” Khun mumbled.

“I could…” Wooyoung began and, when he saw that everyone’s waiting for him to continue, he cleared his throat again. “I could black out… for a few months.”

“Negative,” Khun frowned. “I’m not having another new-born thrashing around and baring his fangs at anyone that moves… again,” he looked pointedly at Taec.

“Hey, that wasn’t my fault!” the tall vampire pouted. “The human I was supposed to feed on didn’t show up on time!”

“It’s risky,” Chansung ignored the little spat and turned to look at Wooyoung, explaining everything calmly. “By the time you wake up, you’d be so hungry; you would literally attack anyone that moves. And if someone’s taken by surprise, you could imprint on that person.”

“What, you mean you can’t set a timer, to be prepared?” Junho couldn’t understand.

“You don’t really wake up on the exact date,” Chansung said. “If your body programs itself to sleep for… say three months from now on, then you would wake up... sometime around the 3rd week of May. There’s a five to eight days error to this method.”

“It’s still doable,” Wooyoung insisted. “And everyone would be safe,” he turned left at Junho with a pleading look in his eyes, and Junho knew that Wooyoung meant not only the members of the clan, but also the person currently working in the lab two stories below them.

Junho didn’t think it was the best idea, as far as his opinion was concerned, he thought that staying awake and continuing to train with Chansung would’ve been a lot better option, but Wooyoung looked so tired and at his wits’ end, that Junho gave his hand a slight squeeze again, promising that he would back him up no matter what.

 

 

 

“Do you still think this is a good idea?” his voice resounded surprisingly low in a silent room.

“Do you think THIS is a good idea?” another voice stressed and Junho turned his head right to see Wooyoung staring back at him, clearly referring to the fact that Junho was lying next to him in his bed, with a few minutes left to sunrise.

Junho focused on Wooyoung’s hair, thinking how he should answer that. The hair was still slightly damp from shower. They waited for a few days until Wooyoung had completely recovered from the attack, then Chansung took both boys for one last joint training session (he drove them to the warehouse and back in his own car, just to be on the safe side), and when they came back, Wooyoung was already mentally ready for the big sleep.

After heated discussions that mostly included reciting some old grievances between Taec and Khun, they eventually had agreed to let Wooyoung black out for three months. He would have wanted to sleep well into the summer, but Khun had implied that by the first week of June, Yena would have to set IVs for him, and Wooyoung had a change of heart because he really didn’t appreciate needles (all that constant stabbing does things to a person, you know?).

So, he simply took a quick shower and changed into a fresh set of clothes, as if he were preparing for an ordinary nap like on any other day. He actually appreciated that no one was too fussy about it and he figured he would fall asleep immediately. What Wooyoung didn’t expect to see, however, was Junho in his bed, batting his eyelashes at him. His twin had decided to keep him company. Go figure.

“I just thought…” Junho began. “You shouldn’t do this alone.”

Wooyoung looked him in the eye giving him a very kind smile, and then turned away, staring at the ceiling.

“I just hope you won’t have a change of heart by the time I wake up,” he said.

“You sure you want me with you then?” Junho raised his eyebrows. “If you’re out of control, you’d need someone strong like Taec. You could imprint on me, you know,” he grinned. “I don’t think you’d like that.”

Wooyoung shrugged.

“I trust you to knock me out, if anything,” he turned to look at Junho again. “Just bring a silver dagger and stab me in the heart.”

Junho was about to laugh, but then he noticed the intensity in Wooyoung’s eyes. Any trace of a smile disappeared from his face immediately.

“You’re serious,” he stated.

“Of course, I am,” Wooyoung scoffed.

Biting his lip, Junho studied Wooyoung’s face and then focused on the white ceiling, blinking rapidly, thinking that this person right next to him had a very strong character. Junho could tell that Wooyoung was good at manipulating the elders by being a kind and sweet junior. Well, for what it’s worth, Wooyoung WAS kind and sweet. But at the same time, he had such a strong and serious personality, that had he been the eldest by a strange twist of fate, everyone would’ve been running to and fro at his command.

On the other hand, Junho knew that he himself had a very stubborn and persevering character, too. It’s just that where Wooyoung was logical and steadfast, Junho was more dynamic and unconventional. Yet, it meant that it was no use in trying to convince Wooyoung to change his mind. With such strong personalities, neither could dominate the other no matter how hard they tried. So, Junho figured that the best he could do was simply stay beside Wooyoung and support his decision (no matter how crazy he considered it to be).

His fingers crept over the bed sheet, and Junho took Wooyoung’s hand in his, giving it a light squeeze.

“Everything’s going to be alright,” he said.

Wooyoung nodded and they both stared at the ceiling, feeling a bit too awkward to look at each other, that particular tingling at their spines telling them the sunrise was very near.

“Dude, now I know what Min Sunye feels like,” Wooyoung pouted.

“What… why?” Junho blinked. Wooyoung bent up his elbow, raising their interlocked hands into their field of vision.

“You have such huge hands, I don’t even… what is this…” his voice inflected in dialectal tones and Junho snickered, his eyes shrinking into two crescents.

He’d never really thought about it, but perhaps it was true. Even if Wooyoung’s hands were bigger than the average, his palm looked absolutely lost in Junho’s paw.

“Does it make you feel…” Junho’s face suddenly moved very close to Wooyoung’s nose. “Uncomfortable?” he whispered.

“Eww, get out,” Wooyoung scrunched his nose, elbowing Junho in the ribs and pushing him away.

He didn’t let go of the hand though. Junho sniggered quietly to himself, while Wooyoung was surprised to find that Junho’s being near him and acting stupid actually helped him to pull his mind away from the impending hibernation. His worries did shrink by a tiny bit, to be honest. That is… until Lee Junho’s leg flopped onto his thigh.

Wooyoung blinked once and stole a quick glance left, to see that Junho was clearly fooling around and obviously enjoying himself. Jang Wooyoung was about to embark on an almost suicidal mission of sleeping for months, and Lee Junho was acting silly.

“Umm…” Wooyoung slowly pushed the leg away. “I do realize you’re suffering from the auntie Sunye withdrawal, but I’d recommend the old blonde two rooms from mine,” he pointed at the right wall with his thumb. “You share an imprint, and I suppose he’d be interested.”

Junho had to swallow a laugh.

“He can hear you, you know,” he giggled.

Wooyoung turned left with a blank expression on his face.

“Do I look like I care?” he deadpanned.

Junho stared for a few seconds and then the next thing Wooyoung knew, there were strong arms wrapped around his waist and Junho’s cheek plastered to his chest.

“Oh, baby, I luv it when you’re strict and cold!” he cooed. Wooyoung blinked surprised, his fingers cracking as he tensed all over.

“Yah, Lee Junho, you’re asking for it… Stop it.”

“Stop whaaaat~” Junho rubbed his cheek into Wooyoung’s chest, wriggling his body around.

He thought of latching his leg onto Wooyoung’s again, but before that could happen, he went through a total state of weightlessness for a tiny nano-second, and then the next moment, he was pinned onto the bed with Jang Wooyoung on top of him, clutching tight at his wrists above his head. Junho’s eyes widened.

“Hn,” Wooyoung smirked satisfied seeing Junho’s shocked expression, and then he let go, nestling cosily into his side of the bed again. “Told ya,” he added smugly.

“Yah!” Junho gasped sitting up. “Jang Wooyoung, you pervert!” he slapped Wooyoung on the shoulder. “I KNEW you had it in you!”

“Wha—” Wooyoung sat up in a flash, pointing at Junho accusingly, his mouth gaping open. “You started it!”

“Me?!” Junho pressed his hands to his chest, his eyes wide open.

 

_-thump thump-_

 

They almost jumped out of their skins when the wall on the right reverberated with dull banging sounds.

“SHUT UP YOU TWO!! AND GO TO SLEEP!!”

 

Junho and Wooyoung stared at each other in disbelief. It was Khun.

“Told you he could hear you,” Junho choked on laughter.

“Shit, there’s your room in between his and mine, and he was still LISTENING IN?” Wooyoung looked appalled.

“Gotta love his straightforward education methods though,” Junho shrugged.

“Yes, lovely,” Wooyoung rolled his eyes.

“ _I-zin’t-he-loooo-ve-ly~~_ ” Junho sang out.

 

_-thump-_

 

“I CAN STILL HEAR YOU! I SAID, SLEEP!”

 

_-thump-_

 

Giggling like two little boys, Junho and Wooyoung lied down again and Wooyoung clicked the automatic blinds button, making the blinds and the curtains go down at the same time. The room turned dark in a matter of seconds, but they could still see everything perfectly, as they turned to look at each other one last time.

“Have a good sleep, Junho,” Wooyoung nodded.

Junho’s hand found Wooyoung’s in the dark and clasped it tight, with no intention of letting go.

“Sweet dreams, Wooyoung.”

 

***

 

Curtains and blinds closed automatically with one push of a button. She lit a few thick candles and it gave the room a warm, orange glow. The amount of time with the blinds down was slowly increasing, as the early March sun would rise earlier and earlier. Although she didn’t like the sun, she also didn’t appreciate spending time in dark barricaded rooms. Hence, she enjoyed all sorts of lighting, but the natural candlelight was her favourite. Especially, when she could share the cosy ambience with a person, she felt comfortable with.

Amber took two full high glasses and walked around her sofa, when a huge flat-screen TV on her wall flashed with film credits. She sat down as the Touchstone Pictures logo disappeared and offered the glass full of red liquid to the person next to her.

“Why are we watching this film again?” she asked taking a sip of her own glass and leaning comfortably into her sofa.

“Because,” Emma took the glass and lied down, putting her head onto Amber’s lap. “Sandra Bullock is a goddess, and Ryan Reynolds is hot.”

Amber smiled, pulling stray strands away from Emma’s face and tucking them behind her ear.

“Oh really?” the tone of her low voice implied that Amber was not convinced. Emma pouted.

“Okay! Fine!” she grumbled. “It’s got Betty White! I LOVED her back in 1950s.”

Amber grinned smugly to herself, gently petting Emma’s hair with her free hand. She focused on the screen where Sandra Bullock’s character was in the middle of a morning exercise. That was true – Emma was a major film and TV shows maniac back when she lived in the United States some sixty years ago.

It was nice to have her back for a few weeks. Amber often missed her bubbly character that would turn any problem into nothing with one shrug of those well-defined shoulders. The key was to not nit-pick at the details Emma would find annoying or frustrating, if you didn’t want her peeved.

Amber, however, found the image of a wired Emma to be absolutely hilarious if not cute, so she sometimes would tease her on purpose. She was not afraid to make her angry beyond conciliation. Emma was one of the few vampires who had not sworn official allegiance to anyone, but Amber knew where her loyalties lay.

“It’s fresh!” Emma gasped as she took a sip of the blood from her glass. Amber smiled.

“A Positive is something that you don’t really need to store,” her hand continued to automatically pet Emma’s hair. “It’s really common.”

“Is that…” Emma gave her glass a few inspecting sniffs. “Is that Anthony’s?” she asked incredulously.

“He insisted,” Amber shrugged.

“Aww, he shouldn’t have,” although Emma had to admit his blood was tasty, so she took another sip. “We don’t even need to feed that often nowadays; you should’ve sent him to a hospital to donate it.”

“That would’ve hurt his feelings,” Amber reasoned.

Emma clicked her tongue, although that was true. Anthony was a kind soul, who didn’t consider vampires scary or disgusting. She actually had a feeling that he found them pitiful, but the hell… Emma sometimes thought their existence to be a mere joke herself.

“By the way, I’ve sent an official messenger to Prince Taejo,” Amber said a matter-of-factly. “And he already gave a reply.”

Emma gripped her glass so tight it was close to shattering into tiniest smithereens.

“Well, I guess it just shows he didn’t want to engage on a personal level,” sneer was obvious in her voice. “You send your own friend, he’s not there. You send some random chap from the structure; he’s all “ _welcome and make yourself at home_.”

“You’re really hung up on this man, aren’t you,” Amber snickered. “He’s a prince, he was probably busy.”

“I know, but I still feel… I don’t know,” Emma pouted trying to process what exactly she felt about it. “Offended is not the word…”

“You’re simply upset because you think he didn’t like you,” Amber patted her on the shoulder. “Or your name.”

Emma rolled the glass stem in between her thin and delicate fingers, eyeing the blood with a disappointed look on her face.

“I suppose…”

“You of all people,” Amber laughed ruffling Emma’s hair and earning a death glare. “You’re the one who told me countless of times that whatever other people think of me is the least of my concern.”

She tried to even out the bird’s nest she’d made, but Emma caught her wrist and pulled it closer to her face, eyeing Amber’s fingers thoughtfully.

“Yes, but it’s kind of upsetting when the statement is that obvious,” she sounded thoughtful, her thumb slowly going back and forth Amber’s knuckles.

“Even if the entire world hates you, as long as you have a few people on your side, it’s ok,” Amber gave Emma’s hand a light squeeze. Emma nodded more to herself than to Amber.

“I remember these,” she said with her eyes focused on Amber’s pale palm. “Beautiful hands…” she let the hand go and took a sip from her glass. “Minjun has gorgeous hands too; by the way, good match.”

“Why thank you,” Amber smiled and they sat in silence for a while, watching two characters argue on screen. Amber didn’t want to pry or incept anything, but she couldn’t forget the intensity she had to deal with in Shadow a month ago. “What about Chansung’s hands?” she asked out of the blue, hoping it wasn’t too obvious.

“Chansung’s?” Emma frowned confused. “Why?”

“Just curious,” Amber shrugged sipping from her glass.

“Hmm…” the younger female stared at the screen. “They're big… but the size is not… his fingers aren’t that long, but…” she was suddenly lost because she didn’t know how to describe it. “They're big, thick, soft to touch and very warm. Hell, his entire body is like a freaking furnace,” she almost melted thinking about it. “Hurrrgh… it’s so nice to black out with him…”

“Then why don’t you?”

“Why don’t I what?”

“Sleep with him,” there, Amber thought, I said it. She toasted herself and took a big swig at her glass.

“What?” Emma giggled at the absurdity of the idea. “It’s Chansung!”

“And that makes him ineligible?”

“No…” Emma hushed suddenly, wondering why the idea sounded so foreign to her. “I just… never thought about it.”

Amber thought that if anyone had taken a snap photo of her face at exactly that moment, it would’ve been perfect for those derp memes that were floating around the Internet nowadays.

“You saw him butt naked on the very first day you two had met, and you’ve NEVER ever even tried entertain the thought?” Amber asked unable to believe the concept.

“Well, I thought he had a nice ass, but I’ve never really considered…” Emma shook her head. “It’s different with Chansung, it’s always been different.

“Listen, I know he looks like a Greek god, but whatever is behind that is not any less stunning. And I always somehow end up ignoring good-looking people because, if they are kind to me, I start imagining that they like me, but people that gorgeous cannot like me, and then if I get delusional, I make that person feel awkward, and I simply make a fool of myself; and no I’ve never thought of Chansung that way, because he’s given me so much more to work on in other areas. He’s a friend I wouldn’t want to lose, and why on earth am I talking about this?!” she suddenly shouted agitated and Amber snickered. “This is not funny!” Emma pouted. “Consider yourself lucky because of Minjun, or else I’d make you pay. Ugh!”

“Save it,” Amber patted Emma on her head again. “You’ll need it,” she knew Emma wasn’t telling her something, but if Emma Snowdon of Northumberland decided to keep her mouth shut about something, there was not a thing or a person in the world that would’ve made her change her mind. Amber just hoped she would cope with her demons sooner rather than later because men like Hwang Chansung didn’t grow on trees.

She suddenly snorted at the mental image of people growing on trees but didn’t say anything. Amber took another sip from her half-full glass and watched the two main characters in the film set out to Sitka, Alaska. Well, what would you know, Emma was right – Ryan Reynolds was hot.

 

 

_England, 1997_

 

Bushes. Why did it have to be bushes? She did not like bushes too much in particular, especially as it was getting increasingly harder to push through them as the years passed by. However, due to light drizzle, the other kids were not about to go outside, so it meant that she had the entire hedge for herself in the yard. Well, not exactly just for herself, but she appreciated the fact that she was given the privilege of illusion that she had been left to her own devices.

That is, of course, until she pushed through a small opening at the bottom of a thick hedge and she found herself in front of a pair of leather shoes. Dark brown boots were right in front of her nose because she was still on all fours. Yena blinked and looked up. She couldn’t see well because of the drizzle, but the dark charcoal eyes were something one couldn’t miss. He smiled tenderly.

“Hello,” he greeted her in a pleasant voice with an interesting ring to it.

Yena slowly got up to her feet, rubbing the dirt away from her palms. Her left cheek stung, which meant the twigs scratched it again, and she knew her hair looked like a bird’s nest (literally) with all the twigs and leaves in it. However, she didn’t take her eyes off the stranger as she studied his face, and a familiar weight sank in her stomach. She wanted to look around, but she didn’t want to appear scared or lost (both of which she wasn’t).

She knew that even if she tried, she would not have been able to see anyone above the hedge because it was still higher than her. At ten years of age, she already stood five feet tall, but this just had to be the situation where her stupid height was not enough, she observed annoyed.

“How d’you do?” she nodded. “You are not from here,” she deadpanned, and the man laughed merrily.

“True,” he trimmed a wide grey scarf around his neck and leaned in closer to Yena. “And what about you? Why are you here all alone?”

“I’m not alone,” Yena angled her head, thinking that this old guy here wasn’t as shrewd as he looked. “You don’t use your nose too often, do you?”

“I beg your pardon?” the man looked genuinely surprised, although he was actually fascinated to have a conversation with a child that didn’t seem to be intimidated at all.

“I know who you are,” Yena folded her arms across her chest, her hoodie and joggers soaking with persistent drizzle little by little. “You’re a vampire. You have dark circles under your eyes, it means you haven’t slept for weeks,” she caught a glimpse of his long delicate fingers. “And your fingertips are turning yellow, you haven’t fed for months,” she fought an urge to take a step back, but she still let it out in a calm, matter-of-fact manner. “You must be very old.”

He stared at her partly confused, partly dumbfounded, but most of all – pleasantly surprised and amused. Meeting an interesting human (a child, on top of that) was not an everyday feat, and he suddenly thought that accidentally wandering off the wrong road wasn’t such a bad thing in the end.

He wanted to ask more and he took one step closer, but that was the furthest he could get because suddenly, another person appeared out of nowhere, and the girl now stood behind small, but strong shoulders. Her guardian was no more than five or six inches taller than her.

He found himself looking into a pair of steel blue eyes that cautiously searched his face, although they weren’t hostile. He relaxed immediately because he knew the female vampire in front of him was not looking for a fight.

“Sir, you ought to know that children should not be talking to strangers,” she said looking absolutely calm but inwardly, she was weighing her chances. Just in case. The vampire looked a lot older than her. But she had had a good training.

“I’m fine,” Yena answered from behind. “We were just talking.”

“How many times do I have to tell you?” her guardian slightly angled her head to the left talking to the girl, but still keeping her eyes on the newcomer. “Just because they don’t want to bite you, it doesn’t mean they cannot hurt you.”

“Please,” the man raised his hands as if trying to prove his intentions were nothing but good. “That was the LAST thing on my mind, I…”

“Ah hyung, I think we missed the turn right a few miles down south, I’ve just found a…” they were interrupted by an upbeat voice and its owner who basically zoomed into the scene and stopped dead in his tracks, eyeing the situation in front of him.

He gaped. Yena stared. The female vampire blinked.

“Ok… Ok Taecyeon?” she gasped.

Taecyeon grinned and ran to her, giving her a sloppy bear hug.

“Holy crap, Emma!" he jumped up and down with joy, pulling her with him as he went. "So nice to see you, it’s been decades!!”

The old vampire frowned looking back and forth between Emma and Taecyeon.

“Emma?” he said. The name certainly rang a bell. It finally dawned upon Taecyeon. He let her go and shoved her in front of his hyung.

“Yeah! Hyung, this is THE Emma, fancy meeting her here, huh?”

“Hyung?” Emma cocked an eyebrow and then she relaxed completely. “You must be Minjun,” she smiled.

“Guilty as charged,” he bowed. “It is very nice to finally meet you, Emma. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you, too,” she bowed as well. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“Hey! What’s up?” Taecyeon waved to Yena, who was still standing behind Emma, trying to look all friendly and what not, but the girl simply gave him a cautious once-over and cocked an eyebrow not exactly impressed by his greeting.

“Nothing?” she guessed and looked away. Taecyeon didn’t know what to say. Emma snorted.

“Don’t mind her, she’s always like that,” she turned to look at Yena. “I suppose you should go home now before you catch cold, you’re soaking wet.”

“Fine,” Yena shrugged. “It was nice to meet you,” she nodded and turned away from them.

“Taec,” Minjun pushed the tall vampire forward. “Walk the child home.”

“Huh?” he glanced at the elder confused and then, noticing the look on Minjun’s face, Taecyeon understood it was better for him to leave. “Oh sure, come on, kiddo, let’s go!” he pointed forward a bit too enthusiastically, earning yet another “what-is-this-weirdo” glance from Yena, but she followed him nevertheless, right after she waved goodbye to Emma.

“A very bright girl,” Minjun remarked as he took a step closer to Emma, watching Taec and Yena disappear behind a hedge. Emma stopped waving, sensing him stand right behind her and she turned her head slightly to the right.

“Yes, sometimes too bright,” she then walked away from the hedge, treading down the road along a small alley of lime trees.

The countryside in this part of Britain was slightly rugged, but she found it exceptionally peaceful and idyllic. Even when it was gloomy and drizzling like there was no tomorrow.

“She once got a hold of a piece of my clotted blood and wanted to bring it to school for the show-and-tell. She wrote down every single scientific detail on how to tell it apart from human blood,” Emma said shaking her head. “She spends too much time with her microscope. Too much time with people like me…” she trailed away as Minjun caught up with her and now they were slowly walking down the lane, shoulder to shoulder.

“But you don’t seem to mind that,” he noted.

“Oh, I like her,” Emma beamed. “She’s fun to be with. Almost like a daughter I’ve never had… although I’m sure she’ll be mothering me soon enough,” she giggled. Minjun gave her a closer look.

“Don’t mind me saying, but to be honest… I’ve had a different image of you in my head,” he said, a genuine surprise written all over his face.

“Oh, I can be serious if need be,” Emma shrugged off. “But the world is too serious, I don’t see why I should be weighing it down with my seriousness as well,” she gave him a kind smile and then looked back at the house atop the hill, where Yena was supposed to be safe and sound by now.

“Are you raising her for yourself, by any chance?” Minjun asked as polite as he could. Emma snorted and waved the idea away.

“Nah, I’m through with women,” she walked on. “Since long ago.”

“Ah…” Minjun followed her. “Just… judging from what I’ve heard, I’ve always considered that…” he poked her with his elbow. “You and Chansung…” he wiggled his eyebrows. “You know…” he grinned.

Emma burst into a fit of giggles. She didn’t know what was funnier – the assumption or the behaviour of the millennium old vampire who made the assumption.

“No, we’re not. I just happened to make a very good friend when he was practically still a new-born,” she stared at her feet, hands in her coat pockets. “Perhaps he doesn’t realize it, but the time we spent together…” she paused closing her eyes, as if reliving countless years in one tiny moment. “It means a lot to me. I just hope he appreciates it at least half as much as I do.

“He does,” Minjun put his hand on Emma’s shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. “I can feel it. And so, do I. You basically looked after my boy in his developing years, while I was away,” Emma opened her mouth to say the opposite, but Minjun raised his hand to stop her. “For that, I am eternally in your debt, and I do owe you a favour.”

“Well… You’re kind of… 500 years late,” Emma laughed.

“I know right?!” Minjun threw his hands up illustrating his frustration, although he was obviously in a good mood. “But better late than never. It’s really hard to keep in touch, you know?” he babbled on. “We’ve got these new mobile phones and everything, but they’re always out of radio coverage, and the battery dies, and it’s a pain when you move from country to country…” Emma covered her mouth with her hand because the faster he spoke, the funnier it sounded. “But one day, when technology develops further, we’ll have to exchange numbers. And I’ll make Chansung get one, even though he doesn’t like all that hi-tech stuff too much,” he shrugged. “So how about that favour?”

He looked her straight in the eye, and Emma had to blink because of the intensity of that charcoal gaze. She was on the verge of opening her mouth, but then she pulled back slightly. Then she frowned. And narrowed her eyes. She sighed and angled her head.

“You made that on the spot because you knew what I would ask for, now didn’t you?” she pouted, staring accusingly at him. Minjun grinned like an old fox he was and shrugged.

“My suggestion is a genuine one though.”

She eyed him from head to toes, still wondering whether he was trustworthy, but she didn’t have much of a choice. A foreign vampire was a lot better than a local one because it wouldn't have drawn unnecessary attention.

“What’s in it for you?” she asked.

“I know a diamond when I see one,” he said in earnest. “And I don’t want to leave it rough.”

“The thing is, we really are just friends,” Emma’s face moulded into a cold, matter-of-fact mask, and Minjun almost did a double-take at the sudden change. “But she has hobbies and interests that might get her in trouble in the near future. Big trouble,” she sighed. “And I haven’t sworn loyalty to any governing body, so I do not have some of the privileges. For example, if I claim a person, it is only a personal statement, and it would not be backed by any leadership in a dispute. I would have to fight if someone else came up and claimed her.”

“You’d like me to claim the girl for our clan,” Minjun deduced.

“Just in case,” Emma nodded. “I realize that I would be completely at your mercy if anything changes, but I can fight my way through. And I would know my enemy,” she gave him a pointed eye.

“That will not be necessary,” Minjun smiled and leaned in closer. “I give you my word,” he patted her shoulder again and stood straight, looking around. “Now, where’s Ok Taecyeon. He’s the one who wanted to reach Surrey before sunset.”

“Surrey?” Emma blinked. “You do realize you’re quite far off, don’t you? This is Northumberland.”

“Well, it’s not too bad, considering we’ve started off in Aberdeen,” Minjun shrugged, grinning.

“Why would you want to go to Surrey on foot anyway?” Emma frowned.

Minjun rolled his eyes and stooped down slightly, waving to Emma to move in closer. He lowered his voice down to a barely audible whisper as if afraid that someone might hear him:

“Taecyeon read some new book about… I quote “ _The boy who lived_ ,” and he’s bound to find some Privet Drive in Surrey,” he said.

Emma gaped. She just hoped someone would eventually tell Ok Taecyeon (in the gentlest fashion) that Little Whinging was not real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally!!! A first OT6 scene since chapter 1. I think. *cries*  
> This chapter also contains the final flashback.  
> From here henceforth, it's only linear story-line in a chronological "present" order (yay).  
> AND, with (almost) all cards out, we're rolling into the final arc.  
> To be honest, it doesn't feel like a lot of things happened, but somehow there's a ton of text lol.
> 
> Thank you for new kudos and subscriptions, and see you in February!
> 
> 🖤  
> [CC](https://curiouscat.me/Egle0702)  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Egle0702)
> 
> P.S. Happy birthday, Jaejoong 🖤


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